Serving all of Eastern Laramie County since 1908
Serving all of Eastern Laramie County since 1908
Sorted by date Results 476 - 500 of 527
I have to wonder what has happened, in this day and age, to drive the common decencies and respect that our parents taught us, away. It seems to be commonplace now to go to a grocery store and cut someone off in the parking lot, leave your trash in your cart, leave said cart in between cars or otherwise take up a parking place, or to spit your gum on the ground so some one can step in it — I have been the victim of this more than once. Is it really so hard to clean up your trash, put away y...
Do you love your dogs? A lot of people do. Many of you probably care for your animals as extended members of your families. As such you don't want anything bad to happen to them and will take them to the vet if they need special care. My wife and I care for our animals too! We try to insure that their shots are kept current and they receive food, water and treats on a regular basis. We have a doggie door so they can go outside as they wish and a fenced back yard to keep them safe. We try to keep them from bothering the neighbors and from...
Statistics showed that San Francisco would win the 47th Super Bowl. I told my youngest son, as soon as the flip of the coin, you can listen to the commentators dispensing statistics. “The winner of the flip wins 45 percent of the time.” “The first to score wins 92 percent of the time.” Then, shortly into the second half of the 47th Super Bowl, the lights went out. The NFL officials gave a “humble apology” for the power surge that delayed the game. But what if it was something more? What if it... Full story
I asked a friend what I should do my column on this week. Immediately the answer came — love. I groaned. Love? Really? Then the reminder that Valentines Day is rapidly approaching making the topic uber (as some would say) appropriate. I am not a fan of sitting in church around Valentines Day. I have heard a lot of sermons given on I Corinthians 13. You know, the LOVE chapter. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t mind hearing that sermon every year or so. But there is something refreshing about a preac...
Electricity is a noun which can mean intense, contagious emotional excitement. Of course it also means “the physical phenomena arising from the behavior of electrons and protons that is caused by the attraction of particles with opposite charges and the repulsion of particles with the same charge.” Electrifying. But for the sake of today’s heart to heart, we’re going with the intense excitement meaning. Men seem to instigate a fuss whenever they are around. Oh, not all the time, guys, and not...
Dear Neighbors I’d like to briefly explain Senate File 0104 and the changes made to the duties of our State Superintendent. My decision wasn’t taken lightly, it is the most heart wrenching “aye” vote that I will probably ever make. This bill makes the fuel tax seem easy and makes me yearn for my life back on the farm. When you sent me to represent you, I don’t believe you expected me to do what was easy. I’m not sure what I need to say about this bill, so I’ll touch on a few concerns that... Full story
Northern Wyoming is covered in several inches of snow this morning. Judging from the fact that the Big Horn mountains a re-hidden, I am guessing there is more snow coming. With there being a large amount of snow on the ground, my task this morning was to shovel the sidewalk and clean off the cars. No easy task, let me assure you. I find as I am working my mind tends to wander. This is especially true when the work is purely physical and requires no real thoughts. This morning my thoughts wandered to my friends at the Denver Children’s H...
Dear Neighbors, As most of you know, the Wyoming State Legislature is in session and we have some difficult issues. The House has just passed on third reading the 10 cent increase in fuel tax. I was an “aye” vote, which, considering my usual conservative stance on taxes may surprise you. I think it’s fair to say that the tax appeared to have an equal amount of support as well as opposition, especially the Ag groups, they were anywhere from adamantly in favor to likewise opposed to divided down... Full story
The move to usurp the voice of the voters goes too far. It’s been an unprecedented two weeks to open the 2013 session of the Wyoming Senate. While personal disputes are commonplace in politics, this session took the personal vendetta to a new level with State Superintendent of Public Instruction Cindy Hill bearing the brunt of a grudge held by a few — a very few — state legislators. As I’ve reported this situation, every legislator I spoken with or who has replied to e-mails has indicated that the issue primarily is personal, not policy....
I like to ride my bicycle. (reminds me of an 80’s tune ...) And sometimes, once a year, I will ride 150 miles in two days in the MS 150 Ride. I am slow. Often bugs on the road pass me when I try to peddle up hill. I keep peddling on. And I finish each mile, on my own without any enhancements other than a great play list and butt crème. But I don’t win, nor do I guess I want to. It must take more effort than I am willing to give to win races riding a bike. So much so, that a champion rider took...
“Seems I am enduring the horrible life that living in a blue state can portend I’ve noticed that whenever you do an “I love Whyoming” column, you take a cheap shot at other parts of the country, mostly my home state. Why is Whyoming the least populated state? Maybe nobody wants to live there.” — Jim Sniffin, my grumpy little brother, of Cedar Falls, Iowa (which is a wonderful place in which to live, I’ve been told). My relatives and friends from other states are sick of me continuing to...
Dontcha hate it when you read something that is supposed to be positive, but turns out to be negative because the writer didn’t get all the facts, or misses the point because he would rather look at the topic from a skewed point of view? Such was the case when I read a magazine article on joy as part of my homework for Contemporary Health. The author is a “Hahvahrd” psychologist so I suppose I should have waded in with my waders on. Another clue that I wouldn’t agree with the guy was that while...
I have never felt the pain of not belonging. Oh, I went through high school like everyone else, and as a shy, red-headed baby sister of an athletic brother and social sister, it was tough. The politics in the teen years make you feel like a democrat walking into a NRA sponsored deer hunt. But even those times when I wasn’t included in some teenage group, I still belonged to the high school, to my family, and to myself. It wasn’t all that long ago that our country, although accepting of people fr...
I had intended to write about the wonderful, albeit sad, experience my wife and I had while watching the film, Les Miserable. I meant to tell you that, if you plan to go see it, take a box of tissues or a handkerchief. But I can’t. I can’t because I can’t get something off my mind. This year’s flu season has been a nasty one. Boston has declared a state of health emergency and many people, young and old, have died. Usually flu season isn’t something I have to worry about. I have never received a flu shot and, except when I was much younger,...
Devastation seems to creep into our lives at odd moments. The Sandy Hook Elementary School shootings came to our office via telephone, first a few dead. Then it seemed with each refreshing of our Internet browser the number grew. The final tally was incomplete by some standards, the press leaving out the shooter and his mother from the death count. As I sit at my desk preparing this column the news includes a story of a 12-year old being declared guilty of murdering his father. He was 10 years...
The ritual of reading the local newspaper is alive and well here in Wyoming. Whether it is daily, twice-weekly or weekly, folks are reading their local paper as soon as it is delivered. Newspaper readership is growing. And yet, for some reason, the conventional wisdom is that newspapers, if not dead already, are certainly dying. In home after home, it is not just grandma and grandpa reading the local bugle, but rather grade school kids, high school kids and busy moms and dads. And college...
With the first full week of 2013 behind us, I think I see some things that need to change. Yes, I know what you’re thinking, “Already?” Yep, already. So here goes. First, you need to stop referring to a man’s friendship with another man as a “Bromance.” Although this term was made popular by the movie, “I love You Man,” there is nothing funny about it. Seriously, just because I call my brother-in-law and talk to him about the football game doesn’t mean I am engaged in a “Bromance.” I mean, what does it even mean?! It’s a friendship, nothing mor...
Philosopher Erich Fromm said, “The mother-child relationship is paradoxical and, in a sense, tragic. It requires the most intense love on the mother’s side, yet this very love must help the child grow away from the mother, and to become fully independent.” It was my mom’s birthday last week. Even if I had all the means to buy in this consumer driven world, she would be difficult to buy for. As I get older and deal with impending death of my parents, I want to buy them anything they want. B...
Firefighters entered a dark room illuminated only by emergency vehicle lights outside the house. Thick smoke permeated the rooms plummeting visibility to near zero. Some smoke clears and the firefighters see an interesting sight — on a table burned on all sides is an unmarred circle. In the center of the circle is an open Bible, untouched by the flames, just covered a bit in ashes. This is a true story from a fire in the Pine Bluffs area a few years ago. That Bible safely sitting in the midst of...
It has always been a mystery to me why millions of people are not moving to Wyoming. For decades, I have expected our borders to be pounded by the influx of all these people who finally saw the light, packed up their belongings, kissed their hometowns good-bye and headed to the Promised Land. Our promised land. A vast majority of my Wyoming friends would exclaim that they are really (I mean, really!) happy that this invasion of newcomers has not happened. As the least populated state in the coun...
Christmas is over and a new year is on the horizon. How did you spend 2012? My year was spent changing my life. As 2012 dawned, I resolved to lose weight — something I have done in the past and failed miserably at. This time was different. I actually did it. As this year comes to a close, I have lost more than 50 pounds. Being the large man that I am, I still have a long way to go. Therefore, I am once again declaring my New Year’s Resolution to be of weight loss. If I can do it in 2012 then I can do it in 2013. What about you? With the boo...
For a state whose destiny is linked to energy prices, the year 2012 in Wyoming was turbulent. Looking back on the past 12 months, the biggest news story affecting the most people in Wyoming is the fall of energy prices, which resulted in steep declines in tax revenue. This might be an exaggeration since I am assuming that the world did not end on Dec. 21. You are hopefully alive and really reading this column. We are assuming the Mayans were wrong. Next week, I intend to write my annual column...
Every year, I look forward to the 12 days after Christmas. It is the time celebrated in the Christian religions for the time it took for the three wise men reach the newborn Jesus Christ. I learned later in life, it actually took the wise men years to reach the little king. Perhaps they lacked an OnStar or lost “the star” in the desert sand, but it’s still a long journey to meet even a king. Whether it took them 12 days or 12 years, they came bearing gifts. And this is where the crazy, much...
The winter solstice begins tomorrow. For our part of the world, it marks the beginning of freezing precipitation and cold temperatures to put most of the growing and living things in hibernation. But spring comes with the warmth of the sun and the rains push sprouts up through the ground and livestock birth new life. It’s a process we go through each year, freeze until the new is ready to be born. A fresh start. To each season end, another begins. With the news this last week, many of us w...
