Serving all of Eastern Laramie County since 1908
Serving all of Eastern Laramie County since 1908
Sorted by date Results 251 - 275 of 527
Wyoming is such a special place. At least it certainly is to me. Yet I often get into an argument with various folks when I put our “low-population, high-empty space place” on a pedestal. This happened two weeks ago when my column talked about Wyoming exceptionalism, through our Universal Truths and Fundamental Values. Are we special or not? One critic, who I respect very much, said in the circles that he runs in, well, my conclusions were met with derision, especially any reference to Equ...
To the Editor: There has been some discussion concerning the law and whether or not persons should be allowed to drive golf carts on the streets without a license plate or a driver's license. Whether or not the laws allow a person to drive a golf cart or other vehicle on their private property without a driver's license, responsible adults should be making wise and safe decisions for their children and grandchildren. As far as driving on the public streets, clearly the law provides that children need to be protected. The law requires that child...
Ah, springtime in Wyoming; you gotta love it. In recent weeks, we have dodged storms in Cheyenne, Laramie and Rawlins and endured them in Lander and Jackson.One day, you can be wearing shorts and a tee shirt, the next you are bundled up against a harsh wind and heavy wet snow. Because Nancy and I are retired, we are fortunate we can leave a day early or stay an extra day, as a way to avoid these spring storms. We did that in both of these trips. After playing golf in shorts with my brother Pat...
Hi there. It’s your crusty crustacean chef Crabbie Abner back, and ready to share some lighter spring and summer time fare with you. I went back east for what was supposed to be a short visit, but got caught up in all the crazy weather, and had to wait until I could beat a hasty retreat and do a quick Crabbie shuffle back to where the weather is only slightly crazy. Can you believe this rain? Two inches last week. Now that the weather is warming up I like to start eating lighter meals. Comfort food is great during the winter, but come spring i...
Had enough rain yet? No? I didn't think so. I realize that moisture is a very valuable commodity, and is needed, especially in areas where agriculture is the main source of bread and butter for the inhabitant. However, do we really have to have this much wind? Back to the moisture though. Last Wednesday was a particularly nasty day, and one of the worst I think I've ever experienced, at least at work. It was about 4 p.m., it was so dark outside one might have mistaken the time for 9 or 10...
The wind is our neighbor. Wind was here first. We deal with it. – Number 14 on the list of fundamental values. When you talk about Wyoming people or think about our wonderful state, are there specific universal truths and fundamental values that come to mind? Are they unique to our state and to our people here? I always thought so. My quest to identify them started when I ran for state office back in 2002. It seemed like a good idea then if I could identify them but this effort became a b...
Does size matter? It sure does when you are Wyoming, whose massive geographic size has nothing to do with its great advantages of being the smallest state in the union when it comes to population. Spanning 97,818 square miles, the 563,000 people occupying our state are unique in all the USA. For example, we are the only state that does not have a city larger than 65,000. The New York Times did a story a few years ago bemoaning, in the writer’s opinion, the horribly unfair U. S. constitution, and...
Dear Editor: It was with some concern that we, the board of directors for the Wyoming Press Association, read recently of the American Civil Liberties Union’s decision to close its Wyoming office. Over the years, the ACLU and its Wyoming staff have been crucial in the ongoing effort to maintain government transparency. Without the steadfast support of the ACLU, some of the advances made in Wyoming’s open meetings and public documents laws would never have occurred. The ACLU has been a true and loyal supporter of the cause of open government. Bu...
I like to play with people by approaching strangers and making a comment to them which they are not expecting, and then waiting for their reaction. Often I do this in a grocery store where I see a gentleman pushing the cart while the lady is out grazing or gathering items. Many times a lady's purse is in the child seat of the cart. I start by walking up to the gentleman and say to him, “I like your purse.” Usually the lady, who is nearby, will start laughing, and the guy will realize it is a joke. Here are some of the reactions I have got...
To the Editor: It is hard to comprehend how medical treatment at a local medical center in rural Wyoming can be so selective in the time of providing emergency medical care. Especially emergency care to local residents that reside in the same community where the medical center is built. True, there are hours of operation for all business places, but to shorten medical service response time by only a few minutes of a business clock when emergency care is requested, is in my opinion unacceptable and dangerous to any patient. I would like our Pine...
Railroads and coal. Together they made history in Wyoming. Some of it quite tragic. Wyomingites tend to celebrate our cowboy heritage and we use the bucking bronco on our license plates and as the state logo. But the reality is it might be more fitting to use a hard-charging steam locomotive, which caused Wyoming to come into being. This year during our 125th anniversary of statehood, it is perhaps fitting to try to decipher the origins of what really built Wyoming. The Union Pacific Railroad...
Have you ever felt it painful to title a new vehicle purchase and hate the time and expense to do so? Well this may change your mind about going through that process next time. Recently I decided to upgrade my car to a newer model. I wanted one with low mileage and without damages. I thought I found the perfect auto for me in Colorado. Even though I hate the stress of such a drive in a major city, I elected to go there. I and a friend did tons of research on the vehicle by using the Internet and asking questions as well as inspecting the car...
We are and always have been about doing business locally when it’s possible. Our community need the businesses that we have and they need all of us to support them whenever possible. We have tried numerous times to ‘support’ our local medical clinic, but get pretty discouraged when we call for an appointment only to be told over and over that they are booked. Funny thing is, though, you can drive by or look out the window, and the ‘booked’ clinic has not one car there. The whole point of having a local clinic is to save a drive to Cheyenne....
I was working as a substitute teacher at Burns Elementary when I was asked to substitute for a second grade teacher who happened to be my cousin. One of my assignments that day was to have the children write in their journals about any school field trip they might have enjoyed. They were all trying to think of which field trip they wanted to write about. Several mentioned a trip to the Denver Zoo they had taken the previous year. I told them that I thought this would be a good topic, and they should mention something at the zoo that they really...
It would be hard to find anyone in Wyoming who is not reeling from hearing about the death of Mick McMurry, 69, of Casper March 10. Rarely does a family, a city or a state come across a citizen like McMurry. He was Wyoming’s Good Samaritan. His business career, after years of hard effort during the state’s lean years, prepped him for an amazing record of success. He was wealthy thanks to a persevering attitude that allowed him and his partners to discover two of the biggest natural gas fie...
It seems like every year, more and more people choose to follow the entrepreneurial path that has guided my life. Here are a few thoughts on the subject: We have a small group up here in Fremont County called Entrepreneurs Anonymous. We try to meet each month in Lander or Riverton and we talk about how to run a small business. One of the guys who has started his own company told this story at a recent meeting: “Our little business is very small operation by any means of comparison. Yet it is t...
Editor’s Note: We will be carrying stories written by Larry Kane, a local retired teacher, who encourages readers to share their life experiences. My first interesting teacher-student experience occurred on the very first day of my teaching career. I was teaching in a small school in a farm-ranch community, Briggsdale, Co. This particular class happened to be a junior high shop class. I had given the class a demonstration on using a hand saw to cut wood. I then let the kids practice on their own. I had one student, Paul, who was a very small s...
Last fall, Wyoming’s present and future peacemakers learned about a new hero for them to emulate, when a young Lander man was killed while trying to break up a fight in Laramie. I knew Joe McGowan his entire life. If there ever was a nicer young man, I have not found him. He had no enemies. When described by his friends, his big smile and wonderful attitude were always mentioned. An artist and a skateboarder, he was a student at the University of Wyoming and looking forward to a wonderful l...
The District is beginning the process of review and evaluation of its ground water management in preparation to set ground water allocations for irrigators over the next allocation period (2016-2018). The 2015 growing season marks the end of the second allocation period the District has imposed after beginning to use allocations as part of its ground water management practices. The board of directors felt this was a necessary step after seeing ground water levels drop drastically, in some instances more than 30 feet, from historic levels. The p...
As of this writing, more than 21,000 of our Wyoming-themed coffee table books are in circulation, a figure that completely staggers my imagination. And thanks to all of you who bought these books. So, now on to the next project – a history-themed coffee table book to celebrate Wyoming’s 125th anniversary of becoming a state, which occurs this year. Title of the new book is Wyoming at 125, Our Place in the West. This is also the theme of the celebration being planned in commemoration of a cen...
Could journalism be any more different today than it was when I started over 50 years ago? How on earth can you give advice to aspiring journalists about their futures today? Those questions loomed high in my mind recently. So there I was, trying to interpret their futures to juniors and seniors at the University of Wyoming. After 51 years in media, it was easy to see myself in their faces, only a half century earlier. They were embarking on a career that might last as long as mine has – but i...
February can seem to be a confusing month here in Wyoming. It is that short month where the weather cannot decide if it is spring or a continuation of winter. So far, it has been spring-like. But cold snaps arrive quickly and you better be prepared for the worst when you travel a vast state like Wyoming. As a perpetual weather whiner, I always welcome this month as it means we are one step closer to Wyoming’s manic-depressive spring. Will spring be warm and toasty? Or will it be full of r...
At one time, this Wyoming man’s face was the most photographed image in the world. Darrell Winfield, 85, the original Marlboro Man, died Jan. 12. And now I can publish a column that I originally wrote in 2000. I interviewed him at his ranch and then later called him to go over the facts. He firmly told me, “No, you cannot publish that. You cannot write anything about me. It is all owned by Marlboro,” he said. So this column has sat there in my files for 15 years waiting for this day. Here goes:... Full story
When old-timers talk about economic trends out here on our isolated island of Wyoming, a big one always looms its head. Is Wyoming’s economy the opposite of the rest of the country’s? It may be coincidental but it seems the last three boom-bust cycles in Wyoming and the USA were like two ends of a teeter-totter. The Cowboy State’s economy seems to be counter-intuitive to the economy of the rest of America. In the late 1960s and early 1970s, the USA was booming. Wyoming was hurting. The late... Full story
We all know that Wyoming is the windiest state in the union but gusts recorded back on Jan. 5 raised some eyebrows. They were so severe, U. S. Sen. Mike Enzi even posted some of them on his Facebook page. If you are unlucky enough to live in Clark near Cody, you endured winds of 113 mph. What is surprising is that Clark only has an elevation of 4,659 feet. Muddy Gap, which straddles Carbon, Natrona and Fremont Counties, saw winds of 88 mph. Hiland between Shoshoni and Casper recorded 82 mph....
