Commissioners proclaim April Month of the Military Child

The Laramie County Commissioners took advantage of honoring the local military by declaring April Month of the Military Child Tuesday afternoon.

Wyoming National Guard youth coordinator Robin Gorsuch told the commissioners the children had been receiving recognition since 1986.

“One in seven children in Wyoming have a parent in the military,” explained Gorsuch. “And there are over 5,000 children in Laramie County who have military parents.”

The proclamation stated the importance of “taking care of their children while the military is taking care of us.”

“When their parents serve in the military, the children serve as well,” Gorsuch said.

Commissioner chairman Troy Thompson said he wanted to thank the members of the military for serving.

“As a father, I can only imagine how difficult it would be to leave small children behind,” Thompson said.

In other business, the commissioners agreed to a contract with VTI to place 40 cameras in the courthouse, hallways, and back where the prisoners enter the courthouse.

“This is a project the judges are excited about and have been asking for for several years,” said information technology director Rick Fortney.

After hearing the local bid was far higher than the contract accepted to perform the work, commissioner M. Lee Hasenauer encouraged local contractors to “sharpen the lead” and crunch the numbers more.

“We would like to award these projects locally, but they need to be reasonable,” explained Hasenauer.

The commissioners also approved a contract with Priority Dispatch Corporation to provide equipment and software for a comprehensive emergency fire and police dispatch. Director of communications Glen Crumpton said this system would enhance 911 operators systems and “generate questions from the computer for the dispatcher.” Commissioner Amber Ash visited with the dispatcher and said they were glad the county was bringing the system on board.

Due to the retirement of Kevin Burns at the shooting range, the commissioners tabled the decision on the target retrieval system until new staff is in place.

The commissioners ended their meeting with a bang, and approved the seasonal firework permit for Jim Landis and USA Fireworks on West College.

The next commissioners meeting will be held Tuesday, April 16, at 3:30 p.m.