August 12-19, 2011

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The Campbell County Observer

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Photos by photographer Clark Sanders

Campbell Co. FairThe Campbell County Fair was another huge success drawing great crowds for the many

events. Find out how to volunteer for next years fair.

Local attorney dies after one

vehicle rolloverBy Paul Wallem-Basin Radio NewsA 61-year old attorney from Gillette is

dead after authorities say he fell asleep while driving near Buffalo, WY.

Paul Drew was driving his Dodge pickup westbound along I-90 near Buffalo Thursday afternoon just before 5:00 p.m. when the accident occurred.

Cindy Dorson with the Drew Law Offi ce in downtown Gillette confi rmed to Basin Radio Network Monday morning that the man involved in the accident was in fact Paul Drew of Drew Law Offi ce.

According to the Wyoming Highway Pa-trol, Drew dozed off and then his vehicle traveled on to the median side shoulder, causing Drew to over steer to the right.

Doing so, however, caused Drew’s ve-hicle to go into a broadside slide across the westbound lanes where it rolled 2 ¼ times onto the right shoulder. During the rollover, Drew was totally ejected from the cab of the pickup.

He was transported from the scene to Johnson County Memorial Hospital in Buffalo. Later that night, he was being transported by ground ambulance to Wyoming Medical Center in Casper when he died of his injuries.

Drew was not wearing a seat belt at the time of the crash, authorities say.

We at the Campbell County Observer want to express that our hearts go out to Mr. Drew’s family. Please let us know if there is anything we can do.

Intoxicated carnie

hauled to jailBy Paul Wallem-Basin Radio NewsThe Campbell County Sheriff’s Offi ce

arrested a 41-year old carnival worker Wednesday afternoon after he was released from his job for operating one of the rides while drunk.

“A 41-year old was operating a Bear Affair ride at the county fair when he was relieved of his job due to his intoxi-cated state,” described Campbell County Undersheriff Scott Matheny. “He walked across the Garner Lake Road to High Plains Campground and was disori-ented.”

Matheny says the man was listed as a Gillette resident on the police report.

“He’s staying at the High Plains Camp-ground for the time being, but he travels all over the country,” Matheny notes.

Matheny said the man reportedly blew a 0.3 on a portable breathalyzer. For comparison purposes, that is over three times the legal limit when operating a motor vehicle.

2

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Friday, August 12-WGSA Tournament, 23rd

Mid Amateur,(All Day), Bell Nob Golf Course

-2nd Annual City Tennis Tourney, (All Day), Rec. Cen-ter Field House, 682-8527

-Wyoming Nature Camp, 8 a.m., 1-6 Grades, Gil-lette College Tech. Center, (307)367-7007

-Wright Annual Used Book Sale, 8 a.m.- 5 p.m., Wright Library

-Teen Open-Play Video Gaming, 1-4 p.m., CCPL

-Mark Twain 100 Years Later- Endowment Fund-raiser, 5:15-7:30 p.m., CCPL

-Couples Night, Gillette Golf Course, 5:30-6 p.m., 682-4774

-Artist Reception for Cen-tennial Committee, 6-8 p.m., Camplex Heritage Center South Lobby,

682-8802 for tickets-Movies in the Park, 7:30

p.m., School of Rock, Cam-plex Park Shelter #3, $5- children 4 & under FREE

-Stone Monkey Band @ Jakes Tavern

Saturday, August 13-WGSA Tournament, 23rd

Mid Amateur,(All Day), Bell Nob Golf Course


-St. Matthews Church Tournament, Gillette Golf Club, 682-4774

-Trash to Trees, 8 a.m.- 12 p.m., Gillette College Tech. Center

-Farmer’s Market, 8 a.m.-12 p.m., Gillette College

-AVA-Raku Class, 8 a.m.- 4 p.m., $125 Class Fee (all supplies included)

682-9133 to Pre-Register, August 27th is the Firing Day


-Teen Chess Club, 10 a.m.- 1 p.m., CCPL

-Teen Dungeons & Drag-ons, 10a.m.- 1 p.m., CCPL

-Smokin’ on the Prairie Charity BBQ Cook-off, 1 p.m., Knight’s of Columbus Hall

-4th-6th Grade WiiPlay Saturday, 1-4 p.m., CCPL


-Tractor Pull, 1-4 p.m., Camplex Wrangler Arena

-Annual Pig Roast/Potluck, 3 p.m., Spotted Horse

-Car Racing; CLMA/WDRA, 7 p.m., Gillette Thun-der Speedway

-Stone Monkey Band @ Jakes Tavern

Sunday, August 14-Senior Center - CLOSED-CCPL- CLOSED-Jake’s Golf Scramble @

Jake’s Tavern-AVA- Floor Rug Class,

$75 Class Fee, 682-9133 to

What’s Going On?Register in Advance

-WGSA Tournament, 23rd Mid Amateur,(All Day), Bell Nob Golf Course



Monday, August 15-AVA-Kidz Summer Art

Camp for Girls ages 8-12, Aug. 15-18, 9 a.m.- 4 p.m.,

$60 Fee, 682-9133 Pre-Registration Required


-AVA-Life Drawing Class, 7 p.m., 682-9133

Tuesday, August 16-CCPL- Artist of the Month:

Dara Corkery-Wright Annual Used Book

Sale, 8 a.m.- 5 p.m., Wright Library

-AVA-Kidz Summer Art Camp for Girls ages 8-12, 9 a.m.- 4 p.m.,


-Teen Card Game Club, 4-6 p.m., CCPL

-All About Women Cus-tomer Appreciation Picnic in the Park, 5:30-9 p.m.,

Camplex Park Shelter #5, RSVP Gail 660-7663 or Jan-ice 670-5595

-Campbell County Cham-ber of Commerce Ribbon Cutting: Tammy Hladky Cen-ter of Hope,

5:30 p.m., 905 N. Gurley Ave.

-AVA-Adult Beginner Paint-ing, 6:30 p.m., 682-9133

Wednesday, August 17-Start of the Campbell

County Citizens Exhibit @ the Rockpile Museum till Oct. 21

-Children’s Immunization Clinic, 8-11:30 a.m., Public Health


-Senior Center- 1st Gold Bus, 9 a.m., 686-0804



-Ribbon Cutting: College

Park Town Homes, 12:45 p.m., College Park Apart-ments


-Airport Board Meeting, 4 p.m., Fulkerson Airport Facil-ity Conference Room

Thursday, August 18-31st Annual International

Surface Mine Rescue Com-petition, Aug. 18-20,

8 a.m.- 5 p.m., Gillette Col-lege Tech. Center




-Senior Center Book Club, 10:45 a.m., 686-0804

-CC Cowgirls/Cowboys, 6:30 p.m., Camplex Wran-gler Arena

-AVA-Adult Intermediate Painting, 6:30 p.m., 682-9133

-Outdoor Connections Geo-caching 101, 6:30 p.m., McManamen Park

-Wine Dinner, 6:30 p.m., Skyline Grille, $75 per per-son

-Teen Anime Club, 7-8:30 p.m., CCPL

Friday, August 19-Energy Cup Challenge

Golf Scramble, Bell Nob Golf Course, 686-0254 ext.1304

-Wyoming Junior Golf Day, 8 a.m., Kids 6-14, Rec. Cen-ter, 682-8527

-31st Annual International Surface Mine Rescue Com-petition,

8 a.m.- 5 p.m., Gillette Col-lege Tech. Center


-AVA- Little Tikes, 10-11 a.m., $5 Fee, Ages 18 months- 6 yrs., 682-9133

-Senior Center Picnic, 12 p.m., 686-0804


-Jesus Little Levi Rodeo, 5-8 p.m., Camplex Wrangler Arena

-Jalan Crossland in Con-cert, 6-10 p.m., AVA, 682-9133

-Ruff Cut @ Jake’s Tavern

Where is this picture taken? See answer on Page 7

The University of Wyoming has been ranked as one of the best value colleges in the United States by Forbes.

That might be news to some people. It wasn’t to Rob Dennis.

“We take a lot of pride in knowing that we provide a tremendous value to our students, and we’re excited that Forbes is helping to spread the word,” says Den-nis, UW’s associate director for admis-sions. “We offer the perfect combination of academic excellence, state-of-the-art facilities, robust scholarship programs and affordability that allows for a fantas-tic higher-education experience for our students.”

In its annual rankings, released this week, Forbes has UW No. 10 on its list of “Best Colleges for the Money.” The four schools atop the rankings -- U.S. Military Academy, U.S. Air Force Academy, U.S. Naval Academy and Cooper Union (N.Y.) -- offer free tuition to all students.

The “value” ranking, prepared exclusive-ly for Forbes by the Center for College Affordability, measures the overall cost of each school relative to the quality of education.

While UW Provost Myron Allen says people should be skeptical of oversimpli-fi ed college rankings, he adds, “It’s gratify-ing to be recognized for providing a great

education at low cost to students.”Zach Taylor, a fi fth-year political science

major from Aurora, Colo., says UW’s affordability was a “huge infl uence” in his decision to head north for college.

“It’s a top-of-the-line school but the price isn’t at the top of your budget,” says Tay-lor, who has become one of the school’s greatest proponents on social media. By early Thursday, he had shared news of UW’s Forbes ranking with family, friends and followers on Facebook and Twitter.

“The value is in the opportunities you get here. I’ve had so many experiences as a student that my friends who stayed in Colorado to go to school haven’t seen.”

One advantage that UW has over many schools, says Taylor, is that its smaller class sizes allow students to build stronger links with their professors. His relationship with one professor resulted in an invitation to dinner at the home of President Tom Buchanan.

“That’s something you’re probably never going to get at a university other than Wyoming,” Taylor says. “It was an awe-some experience.”

The U.S. Merchant Marine Academy was fi fth in the “value” rankings, followed by College of the Ozarks (Mo.), Berea College, U.S. Coast Guard Academy and Brigham Young University-Idaho.

Forbes ranks UW among nation’s best value colleges

Coming to Gillette on September 3rd is the Rapid Running organization. They are holding Gillette’s fi rst ever half marathon. Only about three weeks off, there have only a little over 20 participants signed up for the challenge. In order for Gillette to have this event happen they need more runners to participate.

This is not limited to the half marathon. There is also a 5K, and a one mile kid’s “fun run.” They were expecting about 200 partici-pants but now are just striv-

ing to recruit anyone else to join in.

The fact that Rapid Run-ning chose Gillette as one of its many locations to stop and hold this event across the country is an honor. The people need to show them that we are up the chal-lenge and that we are a great place to have on their map.

The deadline to sign up is September 2nd. There will be a Health and Fitness expo on the 3rd and the run-ning events will take place on the 4th. When signed

up, one will receive a chip timed, high quality running shirt, and a fi nisher medal, among other things. There is also a Participant’s Pasta Dinner the night before, hosted by Bootleggers.

Please come and show your support so the people of Gillette can have many more events like this one come through our town.

To sign up go to rapidrun-ning.com or active.com. There will be prizes given out, live music, and a gen-erally great time to be had!

Rapid Running Event needs more runners

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It’s just two weeks until the 2011 Wyoming Liberty Fest! From the number of early registrations, it looks to be the largest number of attendees ever.

We will gather at Lion Canyon Ranch near Land-er, the same location as in 2009 and 2010. We’ll start Friday afternoon, Aug. 19 and go through Sunday afternoon, Aug. 21. The schedule of events will be similar to years past.

If you aren’t familiar with the Wyoming Liberty Fest, it is simply a celebration of freedom. We gather to-gether to talk about free-dom, politics, guns and lots more. Most attendees camp at the ranch, al-though some stay in Land-er at the Best Western Inn at Lander. If you do plan to stay at a hotel, make your reservation now.

For the fi rst time, all of the events will be held at the ranch. There will be no need to shuttle into Lander on Saturday. A new “Big Tent” will be where the meals are served, and will also serve as the center for daytime activities on Satur-day.

From 9 a.m. until 3 p.m.

on Saturday, join us in the Big Tent to hear from key Wyoming citizens about the state of liberty in Wyo-ming. You’ll hear speech-es from Taylor Haynes, Glenn Woods, State Sena-tor Cale Case, Anthony Bouchard and more. After the speeches, a gun clinic will be held in the Big Tent where you can bring your weapons and learn more about how to clean and care for them from experts. The gun range will be open Sunday morning for both pistol and rifl e practice.

Or if you just want to re-lax, feel free to do some fi shing at the pond, or take a kayak a few times around the pond, or hike in the nearby Sinks Canyon State Park, or just kick back in the shade, enjoying your time with others who share your passion for liberty.

The ever popular Soap Box Hero Contest will re-turn Saturday night. This is a really fun event where anyone can stand up and say their piece. The rules are this - you put two bucks into the kitty and then you get to stand on the soap box and talk about anything liberty-related for three

minutes. We’ll have a maxi-mum of 20 speakers.

After each contestant gives his or her speech, the audience votes by se-cret ballot for the three best speakers. The votes are tallied and the three fi nal-ists are given fi ve minutes to talk about anything - they can expand their original speech, or they can talk about anything else. Then a fi nal vote is taken and the winner is given the title “Soap Box Hero Cham-pion of 2011”, a nice crys-tal trophy to keep and the fi rst prize money. So if you think you’re up to speaking in front of a crowd of knowl-edgable liberty-lovers, plan on giving it a try.

Registration is $35 per adult, $15 for children age 13 to 18, and children 12 and under are free. The registration fee covers ev-erything: a camp site at the ranch and four meals: Sat-urday breakfast, lunch and dinner, and Sunday break-fast.

To fi nd out more about The 2011 Wyoming Liberty Fest, check out our web site at www.wyomingliber-tyfest.org.

Wyoming Liberty Fest

August 5th marked the fourth annual International Beer Day all over the world. Celebrations took place in the United States as well as in Australia, Belarus, Brazil, Canada, Costa Rica, France, Ger-many, Ghana, Great Britain, Greece, India, Israel, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Norway, The Philippines, Romania, Slove-nia, South Africa, Turkey, and Venezuela.

There were a total of 278 celebrations in 138 cities and 23 countries. There may have been many more that remained un-documented.

International Beer Day was developed by a group of bar-owners in the year 2007.

“A few years back a group of friends de-cided that there needed to be a day in cel-ebration of all things beer, a day in thanks to the people who produce and provide our favorite beverage. So, we invented Inter-national Beer Day, convinced our local bar to celebrate on August 5th, made a little website for it, gave thanks to the beer in-dustry, and had a good-ol’ time.

Then we started receiving emails from people who had found the IBD website and held their own celebrations in England and South Africa. We knew then that we need-ed to take our celebration to the world.”

Ever since, they have been working each year to bring the celebration to more and more people, and this year they added

over 100 celebrations! There is a lot of hard work to make this celebration “Epic.”

There are many ways one can celebrate Beer Day. Mainly, the point is to express an appreciation for the beverage in any way. The gift of beer is a must, however. Wheth-er it be buying someone a drink, or a case, the giving is important to the celebration. Many like to try new and exotic beers, lo-cal beers to show brewer appreciation, or have some sort of beer tasting. Other ways to celebrate include all-day happy hours, beer fl ights, trivia nights, other games (such as beer pong), beer/food pairings and beer gear giveaways.

So, next year do not hesitate to take full advantage of a “holiday” centered around adults coming together for a good time and, perhaps, a new perspective on beer.

Please remember from theCampbell County Observer staff:* Drinking while pregnant – Bad.* Designated Driver – Good. * Drinking to blackout – Bad.* Having sober friends around – Good.* Drinking and driving – Bad.* Taking a (free) Taxi home from the bar – Good.* Drinking and hitting loved ones – Bad.* Knowing when to stop – Good.

Is Campbell County ready for another holiday?

International Beer Day

Private donations to the University of Wyoming set a new record at $43.1 mil-lion for the fi scal year end-ing June 30.

This is only the second time in the university’s 125-year history that giving has surpassed $40 million. In fi scal year 2008, UW raised just over $43 million.

The fi scal 2011 total in-cludes contributions of 24,018 donors and brings the UW fi ve-year fundrais-ing average to more than $38 million a year.

The university’s endow-ment, managed by the Uni-versity of Wyoming Foun-dation, now totals more than $303 million.

In addition to the endow-ment, the UW Foundation manages cash, reserve balances, trusts and gifts.

The assets add to public funding to provide the full spectrum of services of Wyoming’s only four-year, state-supported university.

University of Wyoming sets new record for private donations

By Bill McCarthy - Cowboy State Free Presswww.thewyonews.net

4

Community

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Ph: 307-686-0221Fx: 307-686-0265

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As part of ongoing efforts to encourage people to stop their personal tobacco use, the Wyoming Depart-ment of Health has signed on as a sponsor of this year’s Wyoming State Fair.

Tobacco use remains the world’s top cause of preventable death. “Nearly everybody, even those who smoke or chew, real-izes tobacco use is not a good choice,” said Joseph D’Eufemia, tobacco pro-gram manager with the Wyoming Department of Health. “Too many Wyo-ming residents still have these habits.”

About 20 percent of Wyo-ming adults smoke and just over 9 percent use smoke-less tobacco. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Wyoming is at the top among all states for smokeless tobacco use.

According to the 2009

Youth Risk Behavior Sur-vey, more than 22 percent of Wyoming high school youth said they’d smoked in the past 30 days. In the same survey, more than 16 percent said they’d used smokeless tobacco.

“There is a long history of tobacco use in our state,” D’Eufemia said. “Some-times this unfortunate habit is passed down from one generation to the next.”

“The state fair is attended by young people and fami-lies from all over Wyoming. We want to remind them that chewing tobacco is not a ‘safe’ alternative to smok-ing,” D’Eufemia said.

Kathi Wilson, tobacco cessation coordinator with the Wyoming Department of Health, said the fair spon-sorship is another oppor-tunity to focus on helping people quit. “Our Wyoming Quit Tobacco Program is a wonderful resource,” she

said. “We recognize quit-ting isn’t easy and we want to help.”

Wilson said studies have shown combining sup-port such as coaching with medications is an effective way to help people suc-ceed in quitting tobacco.

Significant financial help with medications proven to help people quit, such as patches or other prescrip-tion choices, is available from the program. There is also free support from trained coaches. “With the program’s online option, many people also appreci-ate special options such as chat rooms, quit bud-dies and other support fea-tures,” Wilson said.

To enroll, Wyoming residents can go online at wy.quitnet.com or call 1-800-Quit-Now.

The Wyoming State Fair is scheduled this year for August 13-20 in Douglas.

Fair sponsorship to help department promote

tobacco program

Spend an evening with one of America’s greatest humorists, Mark Twain, in a live performance by pro-fessional entertainer Dave Ehlert on Friday, August 12 at 5:15 p.m. at the Camp-bell County Public Library.

A Branson, Missouri, fa-vorite for years, Ehlert’s Mark Twain portrayal cen-ters on his famous quota-tions, such as, “The only sure things are death and taxes... but at least death doesn’t get worse every year!” Twain’s life story wound around these quips, and he placed a strong em-phasis on literacy: “One who can read, but won’t, has no advantage over one who can’t.”

Mr. Ehlert’s goal is to per-form his version of Mark Twain for libraries across the country and to date he has performed as Ameri-ca’s Favorite Storyteller in 15 states, charming audi-ences with Twain’s humor and wisdom.

This program is spon-sored by First National Bank of Gillette; Susan McKay, CPA, LLC; and The Library Foundation, Inc. It is free and open to the pub-lic. Refreshments will be served.

Following this event, plan to attend the Campbell County Centennial Exhibit Gallery Opening at Cam-Plex Heritage Center Gal-lery.

Mark Twain to visit

Campbell Co.Public Library

Weekly Trivia QuestionWhat was Wyoming’s

first newspaper?

A. The Chugg Water JournalB. The Cheyenne EagleC. The Daily TelegraphD. The Campbell Co. Observer

Flip to page 6 for the answer

The organizing commit-tee for the Wyoming Veter-ans Memorial Park in Cody, is preparing to build the final portion of the memo-rial park. The new area will be dedicated to those who have served in the U.S. military since the Vietnam War and will be called the Freedom Memorial.

Private donors have giv-en generously to support the Memorial Park as well as significant contributions by Gov. Dave Freudenthal and the Wyoming legisla-ture. Gov. Matt Mead and the Wyoming legislature appropriated $250,000 to complete the memorial.

The Freedom Memo-

rial will consist of a cen-tral large monument with spokes radiating to obe-lisks representing the major conflicts since the Vietnam War.

There will be room for expansion if needed. The large monument will list the names of those who died in military service from com-bat, accidents, illness, or other causes of death.

Unfortunately, a com-prehensive list of Wyo-ming residents who died in military service since the Vietnam War does not exist. The Wyoming Vet-erans Memorial Museum, of Casper, has launched a search to ensure the

Freedom Memorial is as complete as possible. The Wyoming Military Depart-ment and Wyoming Vet-erans Commission have maintained lists since the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001; however these lists may not be completely accurate.

“We are asking Wyoming folks to help us memori-alize Wyoming veterans who have died in service. Please call today so we can have the most accurate listing possible,” said Herm Emmett, Wyoming Veter-ans Commission chairman. “This is a critical project as the Freedom Memorial is scheduled to be dedicated on Sept. 10, 2011.”

Search for Wyoming military death since the Vietnam War

Monday, August 15-City Council Pre-Meeting, 6-7 p.m., 3rd Floor Conference

Room, City Hall-City Council Meeting, 7 p.m., Council Chambers, City Hall

Tuesday, August 16-Campbell County Economic Development Corporation

Board, 7 a.m., CCEDC Board Room-Planning Commission Meeting, 7 p.m., Council Chambers,

City Hall

Wednesday, August 17-Campbell County Joint Powers Fire Board, 6 p.m., Fire

Dept. Community Room, Station 1

What’s Going On In Government?

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This week, Secretary Vil-sack led a meeting in the Roosevelt Room at the White House with leaders of a host of rural organiza-tions to discuss the White House Rural Council. The White House Rural Coun-cil, which was established by President Obama on June 9, 2011, will build on this Administration’s un-precedented efforts to spur job creation and economic growth in rural America. Along with Jon Carson, the Director of the Office of Public Engagement and Doug McKalip of the White House Domestic Policy Council, we discussed the Council’s efforts to improve coordination among fed-eral agencies. We focused in on ways to help better leverage existing federal resources in rural America – and on how to facilitate private-public partnerships that can move the needle in building stronger rural communities.

The meeting was a chance for me to listen to our rural partners on the issues that need to be ad-dressed and discuss po-tential solutions. Some of

the key issues raised in-cluded the need to coordi-nate more with our federal partners on health care, broadband, and other criti-cal infrastructure; how to increase the availability of capital and lending to rural businesses and families; efforts to remove barriers to young and beginning farmers; and strategies for establishing better partner-ships with states, tribes, local governments and the private sector. Many of the leaders gathered also ex-pressed appreciation for the renewed focus on rural America and the impor-tance the White House has placed on these issues.

These sorts of conver-sations were an important goal of the Rural Council. While the Obama adminis-tration has worked to drive innovation in rural America

and capitalize on emerg-ing opportunities like re-newable energy, local and regional food systems, and expanded broadband access, there is more work to be done. Partner-ing with leaders in rural America is the best way for government to help foster investment, support com-munities, and help rural businesses succeed, ex-pand and create jobs.

“I am proud to serve as the Chair of the White House Rural Council and look forward to all we can achieve with our partners both within and outside the Federal government to create more opportunity in rural communities so that they remain great places to live, work and raise a fam-ily.” Said Secretary Valsack

Tom Vilsack is the Secre-tary of Agriculture.

White House roundtable meeting with rural leaders

Shortly before 9:30 p.m. Monday night, the Camp-bell County Fire Depart-ment and Campbell County Sheriff’s Office responded to a report of a 4-wheeler accident along Moncrieffe Ridge Road.

The accident involved two teenagers driving two separate 4-wheelers. One of the 4-wheelers rear-end-ed the other.

“A 16-year old female stopped her 4-wheeler,” ex-

plained Campbell County undersheriff Scott Matheny. “He didn’t see that it was stopped and drove into the back of the other 4-wheel-er.”

According to Matheny, the 16-year old male was transported to the hospital with facial injuries. There was no update on his con-dition as of this morning.

This crash is still under investigation.

ATV accident sends teenager

to hospitalBy Paul Wallem - Basin Radio News

For advertising email us at

Advertising@CampbellCounty

Observer.com

5

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The Campbell County Observer Staff

Candice De Laat - Owner/[email protected]

Nicholas De Laat - Owner/[email protected]

Keary Speer - [email protected]

Jenna Flanery - Layout/Design

Owen Clark - Ad [email protected]

Ken McCoy - Distribution Manager

Pattie Ladd - What’s Going [email protected]

WritersSandra Boehler (Charities/Fundraisers/Veterans Events)[email protected]

Glenn Woods (Political Column)[email protected]

Mike Borda (American History)[email protected]

Elizabeth Albin (Wright)[email protected]

Lin [email protected]

Josh Uzarski (Science)[email protected]

Ken De Laat (About Nothing)[email protected]

“Juice” (Political Cartoonist)[email protected]

Jeff Morrison (Local History Contributor)[email protected]

Wyoming’s state budget is in better condition than any other in the nation.

On Wednesday, the Chicago-based Institute for Truth in Accounting is-sued its full report on all 50 states’ assets and li-abilities, including pension and retirement health-care obligations.

Unlike most states, the difference between Wyo-ming’s assets – less capital and restricted assets – and all its obligations on-and-off the balance sheet exceed the state’s obligations. Wyoming’s liquid assets exceed the obligations by $15,100 per taxpayer, the non-partisan, non-profi t In-stitute reported.

Initial results of the inde-pendent budget analysis showed Wyoming as one of only four states capable of covering health-care and

pension promises to retired state-employees without incurring debt. More de-tailed results were issued Wednesday.

The study determined that six states carried a burden of more than $20,000 for each taxpayer in the state.

Those “Sinkhole States” are Connecticut – $41,200, New Jersey – $34,600, Illinois – $26,800, Ha-waii – $25,000, Kentucky -$23,800, and Massachu-setts – $20,100.

The “taxpayer burden” represents the money needed to pay commit-ments the state has ac-cumulated divided by the state’s taxpayers.

Only Nebraska, North Dakota, Utah and Wyo-ming have assets available to pay their debt and obli-gations related to pension

and retirees’ health care.The analysis called those

states plus South Dakota the “Sunshine States” be-cause of their favorable budget positions. South Dakota taxpayers owe a $300 “taxpayer burden.” That is relatively low, the analysis says.

Wyoming has promised to pay more than $3 billion in pension and health-care benefi ts to retirees.

The study reviewed each state’s Comprehensive An-nual Financial Report to offset assets against liabili-ties.

Employee compensa-tion packages include re-tirement benefi ts. Those benefi ts are earned each pay period and should be included in the current bud-get as a portion of current employee compensation costs, according to the

analysis authors.Most states handle many

benefi ts on a “pay-as-you-go” basis. That hides the costs of the benefi ts from current budgets, pushing them into future budgets.

“The lack of truth and transparency in state bud-get processes has con-cealed the accumulation of $1 trillion of outstanding bills,” the analysis says.

Study: State Budget in better condition than any other

By Bill McCarthy - Cowboy State Free Presswww.thewyonews.net

Following are road con-struction updates courtesy of the City of Gillette.

Burma AvenueThe Burma Avenue rail-

road crossing will be open Monday, August 15th. The contractor is working to have this crossing open as early as the evening of Fri-day, August 12th, but it will more likely be the morning of August 15th. This cross-ing has been closed for construction on two sepa-rate projects: the Stonepile Creek Sewer Interceptor project as well as the City’s Quiet Zones Project.

4th Avenue4th Avenue between

Greenwood Avenue and Fir Avenue will be closed from Monday, August 1st through Tuesday, August 12th while a contractor installs a water main to Wagonwheel Elementary School for additional fi re suppression. This work is being done in conjunction with the Campbell County School District.

Garner Lake RoadLane constriction on

northbound Garner Lake Road will take place from Wednesday, August 3rd through Monday, August 22nd. This work is being done in conjunction with the Interstate Industrial Park Drainage Project and is funded by the Optional 1% Sales Tax.

Shalom AvenueShalom Avenue from

1850 Shalom Avenue to the intersection of Shalom Avenue and Chara Avenue will be closed from Monday, August 1st through Mon-day, August 15th for street reconstruction as part of the City of Gillette’s Pave-ment Management Sched-ule B, which is funded by the Optional 1% Sales Tax.

2nd Street2nd Street will be re-

stricted to two lanes (right lanes heading east and west on 2nd Street) at the alley between Ross Av-enue and Warren Avenue from Friday, August 5th through Saturday, August 20th. Traffi c Control Plan [PDF] This construction is for work related to the Ston-epile Creek Sanitary Sewer project.

Alley Closures The alley between Ross

Avenue and Warren Av-enue from 1st Street to 2nd Street will be closed from Friday, August 5th through Saturday, August 20th while crews install sewer line associated with the Stonepile Creek Sewer In-terceptor Phase IIB project.

The alley between Ro-han and 4J from 3rd Street to 4th Street will be closed from Wednesday, August 3rd through Saturday, Au-gust 20th for the installation on Sanitary Sewer, in con-junction with the Stonepile

Creek Sewer Interceptor, Phase IIB project. This project is funded by the Op-tional 1% Sales Tax.

Par DrivePar Drive will continue

being under construction from Monday, August 8th through Friday, August 26th for construction ac-tivities, including: asphalt pavement repair, asphalt overlay and subgrade prep. This project is part of the 2011 Pavement Manage-ment Schedule A, and is funded by the Optional 1% Sales Tax.

Enzi Drive WideningThe Enzi Drive widen-

ing project continues to progress. The contractor is fi nishing up the medians on Enzi Drive, and motor-ists will notice the signals at Enzi Drive and Sinclair Street begin fl ashing

This project, funded by the Optional 1% Sales Tax, will be ongoing throughout the Summer of 2011. This will widen Enzi Drive to fi ve lanes from the Enzi Drive/West 4J Road Intersection to just south of the Enzi Drive/Shoshone Avenue intersection. The project will also relocate the traf-fi c signals at the Enzi Drive and Slate Street to the in-tersection of Enzi Drive and Sinclair Street - which will include a new entrance and exit to CCHS South Cam-pus on Sinclair Street.

Road Construction UpdatesBurma Ave. open by Monday, Aug. 15

Joke of the weekSubmitted by William Ford Buskly

A man and his wife were sitting in the liv-ing room discussing a “Living Will”

“Just so you know, I never want to live in a vegetative state, dependent on some ma-chine and fl uids from a bottle. If that ever happens, just pull the plug.”

His wife got up, unplugged the TV and threw out all the beer.

6

SIMPLY THE BESTWHERE THE NAME SAYS IT ALL

601 E. 4TH STREETGILLETTE WY 82718 307-686-9251

MISTY PETERSONOWNER/STYLIST

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Community

Guernsey Reservoir Silt Run scheduled in August for all of us who camp and boat there

At the request of downstream irrigation districts, the Bureau of Reclamation will initiate a late season silt run and begin draining Guernsey Reservoir beginning late afternoon of August 7.

The reservoir will be empty by August 10 and expected to refi ll in late August. Conditions are expected to return to near normal conditions at Guernsey on August 27-28. Water levels are ex-pected to remain normal with good boating conditions through late September.

Persons with questions regarding reservations or water conditions at Guernsey State Park are urged to call 307-777-6323.

Weekly Trivia AnswerThe Chugg Water Journal

Contrary to popular belief, the news-paper published at Fort Bridger in 1863 known as the Daily Telegraph was not the � rst newspaper in Wyoming. An earlier paper was published by soldiers at Fort Laramie in 1849 called “� e Chugg Water Journal.”

It’s a big week in north-east Wyoming for the en-ergy industry, as several congressional staffers will be visiting the region this week as part of a fact fi nd-ing tour.

The staffers will arrive today in Sheridan, and they will spend Wednes-day touring various sites including the Lake DeSmet Lodge and the Visitor’s In-formation Center.

On Thursday, the group will arrive in Gillette, where they will attend the dedica-tion of the Dry Fork Station and tour the Cordero Rojo Mine and the Durham Buf-falo Ranch.

During Monday night’s city council workshop, City of Gillette Mayor Tom Murphy praised Wyoming State Senator Driskill and his family. The senator, who has helped contribute to the planning of the fact fi nding tour, was recently hit with a family tragedy last week when his brother was found dead in a septic tank at the KOA Campground near Devils Tower.

Nevertheless, Driskill

has continued his efforts to help.

“As is the nature of Wyo-ming people, Mr. Driskill is seeing to it that the items other than lunch at Driskill Ranch, all the other items will be attended as planned,” Murphy said.

Driskill’s continuing help for Friday’s third leg of the tour speaks highly of the Driskill family, Murphy add-ed.

In all, Murphy hopes the fact fi nding tour will provide an education about the Wy-oming way of life, showing congressional staffers that energy development and tourism can live side by side. The mayor even in-tends to show how effective the region’s reclamation procedures are at restoring the land.

“I personally am going to ask them at one point, ‘Which side of the high-way has been mined, and which side has not and please choose.’ We’ll have a secret ballot,” the mayor explains. “We’ll see how intuitive they are.”

Spotlight is on energy industry as

congressional delegates visitBy Paul Wallem - Basin Radio News

Re-DistrictingHere is what the

redistricting looks like how it is cur-rently proposed. There is still much work to be done, and the vote will not be until the Spring of 2012. Contact your local legislator with any questions.

“A patriot must always be ready

to defend his country

against his government.”

- Edward Abbey

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EVERYTHING ON SALEINSIDE AND OUT

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If you are at one of your kid’s events and think it should be published, write an article, submit pictures with

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Little League GamesBand ConcertsPlaysLocal Events

August 3, 2011- At 6:53 a.m. to 12th St.

and South Highway 59 for a vehicle that was leaking oil. Crews applied fl oor dry to absorb the oil.

- At 7:38 a.m. to 800 East Warlow Drive for an automat-ic fi re alarm. CCFD respond-ed to the scene and upon ar-rival found a light ballast for a fl uorescent light overheating and smoking. Power was disconnected to the fi xture and the scene was turned over to CCSD maintenance staff.

- At 12:14 p.m. to the Bishop Road for a grass fi re. CCFD responded to the scene and upon arrival found an approximately 3 acre fi re burning in grass and sage brush. The fi re was extin-guished and the caused was determined to be lightning.

- At 12:39 p.m. to the area of the OR Road for a grass fi re. CCFD responded to the scene and upon arrival found a large, fast moving fi re burn-ing in grass and sage brush. The fi re was attacked by CCFD fi refi ghters and con-tained at approximately 114 acres. The cause was deter-mined to be lightning.

- At 12:51 p.m. to the area of the OR Road for a sec-ond grass fi re. CCFD re-sponded to the scene and upon arrival another large, fast moving fi re was found burning in grass and sage brush. CCFD fi refi ghters at-tacked the fi re and contained it at 109 acres. The fi re was caused by lightning.

- At 3:26 p.m. to 16510 North HWY 59 for a grass fi re. CCFD responded to the scene and upon arrival found an approximately 9 acre fi re. The fi re had been contained by the landowners and CCFD rural fi refi ghters. It was com-pletely extinguished and the cause was determined to be lightning.

- At 6:59 p.m. to 1647 Path-fi nder Circle for an automatic fi re alarm. CCFD cancelled en route when it was deter-mined to be a false alarm.

- At 7:37 p.m. to 79 Gold Buckle Place for a grass fi re. CCFD responded to the scene and upon arrival determined the fi re to be a controlled burn that was not properly reported. No assis-tance was needed and the homeowners were advised of the reporting requirements for controlled burns.

- At 8:31 p.m. to 806 North Gurley Avenue, #9, for a gas smell. CCFD responded to the scene and upon arrival determined that the vent on the propane tank was leak-ing. The tank and scene were turned over for repairs to the homeowner’s propane provider.

August 4, 2011- At 2:24 a.m. to 800 North

Burma Avenue for an auto-matic fi re alarm activation. CCFD responded to the scene and upon arrival de-termined that the alarm was caused by a malfunction in the main annunciator panel. The panel was reset and the system was restored to nor-mal operation.

- At 9:52 AM to Knicker-bocker for an EMS assist.

- At 10:18 AM to the 2500 block of Daybreak Drive for an EMS assist.

- At 10:33 AM to Suther-land Dr. for an EMS assist.

- At 10:43 AM to CamPlex at the Wyoming Center for an automatic fi re alarm, smoke from a vendor who was cooking set off a detector.

- At 1:19 PM to 411 Four J Rd. for an automatic fi re alarm, upon arrival it was de-termined that burnt food had set off the detector.

- A 3:12 PM to an area South of Fairview Rd. along the tracks for a small grass fi re that was started by a passing train.

- At 4:00 PM to North High-way 59 near mile marker 149 for a 1 vehicle rollover.

- A 7:54 PM to the Fortifi -cation Rd. for a grass fi re, prior to our arrival the area received some rain and due darkness we were unable to fi nd the fi re.

- At 10:44 PM to Meadow Rose for a natural gas smell,

upon arrival crews could smell a faint odor of gas so Source Gas was contacted and they took over the scene.

August 5, 2011- At 3:06 AM to West War-

low for an EMS assist.- At 7:52 a.m. to 1000

Camel Drive for a gas leak inside the CCHS North Cam-pus. CCFD responded to the scene and upon arrival found an oven in the kitchen with a pilot light out. SourceGas shut off the gas supply to the building and relit the pilot light.

- At 10:55 a.m. to the area of the Olmstead Road on North HWY 59 for a timber fi re. CCFD responded to the scene and upon arrival a single tree on fi re. The tree was cut down and the fi re extinguished. The fi re was caused by lightning.

- At 3:26 p.m. to 2577 South Douglas HWY for an automatic fi re alarm activa-tion. CCFD responded to the scene and upon arrival deter-mined that a pull station had accidentally been activated. The alarm was reset and the hotel was reoccupied.

- At 3:54 p.m. to the area of the intersection of the Haight and Hilight Road for a grass fi re. CCFD responded to the scene and upon arrival found an approximately 10 acre fi re. The fi re was extin-guished and the cause deter-mined to be lightning.

- At 4:12 p.m. to the area of 861 HWY 50 for a grass fi re. CCFD responded to the scene and upon arrival found a large fast moving fi re burning in grass and sage. CCFD, with the assistance of several privately owned water trucks and sprayer units, fought the fi re and contained it to approximately 420 acres. The cause of the fi re could not be determined but it was believed to be ei-ther lightning or a downed powerline.

- At 4:21 p.m. to the area of Cordero and Bell Ayre Mine for a grass fi re. This fi re was determined to be the same fi re as the one along the Haight Road.

- At 4:46 p.m. to the area of the Hoe Creek Road and Hwy 59 for a grass fi re. CCFD responded to the area and was unable to locate a fi re. It was determined that smoke from a nearby fi re was called in as a separate fi re.

- At 5:16 p.m. to the area of the Taylor Road for a grass fi re. CCFD responded to the scene and upon arrival found a 15 acre fi re burn-ing in grass and sage brush. CCFD, along with several privately owned sprayers op-erated by citizens, attacked the fi re and brought it under control at 150 acres. The fi re threatened 1 structure but did not cause any damage to it. The cause of the fi re was lightning.

- At 5:23 p.m. to 1802 Ne-vada Street for a structure fi re. CCFD responded to the scene and upon arrival found a mobile home and garage on fi re. The fi re was brought under control in ap-proximately 1 hour and the investigation was still under-way at press time. Damage is estimated at $80,000 and one occupant received burns during the fi re.

- At 5:31 p.m. to the area of 151 Spring Creek Road for a grass fi re. CCFD responded to the scene and upon arrival found a 2 acre fi re burning in grass and sage. The fi re was attacked and extinguished. Cause information was not available at press time.

- At 5:49 p.m. to the area of the Clarkelen Road for a grass fi re. Size and cause information was unknown at press time.

- At 6:21 p.m. to the area of Collins Ranch on the Collins Road for a grass fi re. CCFD responded to the scene and was able to contain the fi re to 1 acre. The cause of the fi re was lightning.

- At 6:57 p.m. to the area of 1056 Hilight Road for a grass fi re. Size and cause information was unknown at press time.

- At 7:51 p.m. to the area of

the Hart Road and Olmstead Road intersection for a timber fi re. CCFD responded to the scene and upon arrival found an approximately 6 acre fi re burning in timber, grass, and sage brush. CCFD fi refi ght-ers were still fi ghting the fi re at press time. The cause of the fi re was lightning.

- At 9:57 p.m. to the area behind 408 South Douglas HWY for a dumpster fi re. CCFD responded to the scene and upon arrival found a 3 yd dumpster on fi re. The fi re was extinguished and it was caused by hot ashes from a smoker being dumped into the dumpster.

- At 10:43 p.m. to a ve-hicle fi re at 106 North HWY 14-16. CCFD responded to the scene and upon arrival found a Ford Bronco with a smoldering fi re underneath the hood. The fi re was extin-guished and the cause was determined to be a backfi re in the carburetor.

- At 10:47 p.m. to 5834 S Winland Drive for an auto-matic fi re alarm activation. CCFD was cancelled en route by the alarm company who stated it was a false alarm.

- At 11:46 p.m. to 605 S Garner Lake Road for an automatic fi re alarm activa-tion. CCFD responded to the scene and no fi re was found on arrival. The alarm system was checked and found to be malfunctioning.

August 6, 2011- At 8:53 AM to the 8600

block of Andre Court for a medical assist.

- At 3:49 PM to the 200 block of East Sunset Drive for a medical assist.

- At 4:04 PM to the area of Lewis Road for a smoke report that turned out to be ash/dust that was blown into the air

- At 4:43 PM to 1311 Heald Road for a grass fi re that was contained to less than ½ an acre. The fi re was caused by an arc from a powerline.

- At 6:23 PM to East Box-elder Road (by Wendys) for an oil spill. A fi ve gallon plas-tic bucket of oil spilled onto the Westbound inside lane of travel. Firefi ghters applied a hydrocarbon eating enzyme along with fl oor dry to the oil spill. It is unknown who caused the oil spill.

- At 7:20 PM to Ranchette Drive for a medical assist.

- At 8:06 PM to the Ameri-can Ranch Road for a traffi c accident involving a vehicle that left the roadway and struck a traffi c sign. There were two injuries.

- At 8:35 PM to Dawn Drive for a medical assist.

- At 9:53 PM to the area behind 469 Highway 50 (Skyline Grill) for a grass fi re that turned out to be a control burn

Update:The mobile home fi re that

occurred at 1802 Nevada Street on August 5, 2011 was determined to have been started by a discarded cigarette butt in a fl ower pot that contained organic mat-ter that was sitting on an at-tached wooden deck.

August 7, 2011- At 1:03 a.m. to 1215

Lawver Road for a grass fi re- At 2:35 a.m. to Keeline

Road for a grass fi re- At 3:35 a.m. to the 900

block of West 8th Street for a medical assist

- At 6:02 a.m. to the inter-section of South Douglas Highway and Boxelder Road for a medical assist.

- At 10:47 a.m. to Wyo-Dak Mine for coal on fi re in a crusher. CCFD responded to the scene and assisted mine personnel with washing down the crusher.

- At 2:23 p.m. to the area of the Keeline Road in the Rochelle Hills for a timber fi re. CCFD responded to the scene and upon arrival found the fi re burning in rug-ged terrain. It was burning in grass and timber was ap-proximately 40 acres in size. Firefi ghters fought the fi re throughout the day and were able to contain it to 62 acres. Approximately 27 people re-

Campbell Co. Fire Dept.mained on it overnight and will continue to work on ex-tinguishing the fi re today. The cause of the fi re was lightning.

- At 2:33 p.m. to Buckskin Mine for an unknown type of fi re in their pit. CCFD was cancelled en route to the scene when mine personnel advised no assistance was needed.

- At 3:27 p.m. to the area of Swanson Road for a smoke report. CCFD responded to the scene and upon arrival found a controlled burn that had not been properly report-ed by the land owner. CCFD advised him of reporting re-quirements for conducting controlled burns.

- At 5:27 p.m. to South Douglas HWY for an EMS assist.

- At 6:11 p.m. to the area of the Black and Yellow Road for a grass fi re. CCFD re-sponded to the scene and upon arrival found 4 sepa-rate fi res that had either been put out by rain or local land-owners. All of the fi res were caused by lightning and were less than 5 acres in size.

- At 6:25 p.m. to 520 Wil-derness Drive for a structure fi re. CCFD responded to the scene and upon arrival found an electric smoker with a grease pail that had caught fi re. The fi re had been extin-guished by the homeowner and a neighbor and only mi-nor damage had been sus-tained to the grill.

- At 6:51 p.m. to the area of the Kitty Gas Plant on Echeta Road for a grass fi re. CCFD responded to the scene and upon arrival found a 5 acre fi re burning in grass and sage brush. CCFD fi re-fi ghters extinguished the fi re and determined its cause to be lightning.

- At 7:13 p.m. to the An-telope Road for a 2 vehicle collision with injuries. CCFD responded to the scene and upon arrival had to extricate occupants who were trapped in the vehicle. CCFD also assisted with care of the in-jured occupants.

- At 7:19 p.m. to 912 west 8th Street for a pos-

Answer: Campbell County Courthouse,

Front Entrance

sible structure fi re after the building was hit by light-ning. CCFD responded to the scene and checked the building for fi re but none was found.

- At 7:39 p.m. to the area of 14000 Hwy 51 for a grass fi re. CCFD responded to the scene and upon arrival found a small fi re that had mostly been put out by rains. CCFD extinguished the fi re and determined its cause to be lightning.

- At 7:52 p.m. to 1575 Adon Road for a grass fi re. CCFD responded to the scene and upon arrival found an ap-proximately 5 acre fi re burn-ing in grass and sage brush. The fi re was extinguished and its cause determined to be lightning.

- At 8:35 p.m. to the area of the railroad tracks south of the Bishop Road for a grass fi re. CCFD responded to the area but were unable to fi nd a fi re. CCFD believes the fi re was extinguished by rains in the area.

- At 9:54 p.m. to Mountain Meadow Lane for an EMS assist.

August 8, 2011- At 9:37 AM to the 1400

block of Michelle Street for an EMS assist.

- At 12:06 PM for a grass fi re along the railroad tracks by Garner Lake Road – no fi re found.

- At 5:02 PM to 1613 Path-fi nder Circle for a fi re alarm caused by a smoke detec-tor going into alarm mode. Firefi ghters cancelled when it was learned that there was no fi re and that cook-ing caused the detector to go into alarm.

- At 9:19 PM to the Bishop Road (by Rozet) for a grass/brush fi re. Firefi ghters were able to contain the lightning caused fi re to less than 2 acres in size.

- At 9:24 PM to 111 Mon-crieffe Ridge Road for a 4 wheeler accident with injury. One 4 wheeler had rearend-ed another.

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We are opening back up.

We are starting a segment on government that simply keeps track of what our offi cials are doing. This is informational only for better public knowledge. We would appreciate any input or ideas for our open article section or just simply e-mail us at [email protected].

This will not be every week, just as we fi nd research. The fi rst is State Senator John Hines and his sponsored bills during the fi scal year 2011.

PASSED* SF0103-Gillette Madison water project

fi nancing. SummeryEffective Date: 2/22/2011 Catch Title: Gillette Madison water proj-

ect fi nancing. • Subject: Amends the funding for the

Gillette Madison water project.Summary/Major Elements:• Gillette Madison water project is cur-

rently being funded with 2009 and 2010 appropriations and a loan/grant mix.

• Bill also provides for 2011 funding in-cluding a $7 million project grant, a $25.4 million appropriation from AML funds, and a $16 million loan from the PMTF.

• Bill also provides for future funding of the project for fi scal years 2012 through 2014. The future funding is subject to the governor’s recom-mendation. (future funding amounts total around $118 million)

* SF0128-Abandoned vehicles-storage expenses

Effective Date: 7/1/2011 Catch Title: Abandoned

vehicles-storage expens-es.

• Subject: Storage fee increase for abandoned vehicles.

• Summary/Major Ele-ments: This bill increases the default fee charged for the storage of abandoned vehicles from fi ve dollars to ten dollars per day.

FAILED* SF0127-Gillette Madison water project.Gillette Madison water project. Sponsored by: Senator(s) Hines A BILL for AN ACT relating to water de-

velopment; creating a new water Develop-ment account IV as specifi ed; specifying purposes of the account and funding there-for; and providing for an Effective date.

Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Wyoming:

Section 1. W.S. 41-2-124(a) by creating a new Paragraph (iv), (b) and by creating new subsections (f) and (g) is amended to read:

41-2-124. Accounts created; unexpend-ed balance.

(a) The following accounts are created: (iv) Water development account IV into which shall be deposited revenues pursu-ant to law. 2011 STATE OF WYOMING 11LSO-0195

SF0127(b) Any unexpended balance in water

development accounts I, II, and III and IV as defi ned by subsection (a) of this sec-tion shall be invested by the state treasurer and the interest earned shall be credited to the account.

(f) Funds in water development account IV shall be reserved for any water project beyond the fi nancial capabilities of water development account I, II or III as deter-mined by the governor and the legislature.

(g) There is transferred to the wa-ter development account IV created by paragraph (a)(iv) of this section effec-tive July 1, 2011 fi fteen million dollars ($15,000,000.00) from the budget reserve account to be expended for the Gillette Madison water project created under W.S. 99-3-1405. The funds shall not be ap-

propriated for the project without legislative approval pursuant to W.S. 99-3-1405.

* SF0129-Agricultural land-subdivisions.

Agricultural land-subdivi-sions.

Sponsored by: Senator(s) Hines and Representative(s) Throne

A BILL for AN ACT relat-ing to ad valorem taxation; amending requirements for classifi cation of land as ag-ricultural land; and provid-ing for an effective date.

Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Wyoming:

Section 1. W.S. 39-13-103(b)(x)(B)(II) is amended to read:

39-13-103. Imposition. (b) Basis of tax. The following shall ap-

ply: (x) The following shall apply to agricul-

tural land: 2011 STATE OF WYOMING 11LSO-0559

SF0129(B) Contiguous or noncontiguous par-

cels of land under one (1) operation owned or leased shall qualify for classifi cation as agricultural land if the land meets each of the following qualifi cations:

(II) The land is not part of a platted sub-division, except for:

(1) A parcel of thirty-fi ve (35) acres or more which otherwise qualifi es as agricul-tural land under this subparagraph; or

(2) A parcel which is operated by and contiguous to one (1) qualifying operation for an agricultural purpose under this sub-paragraph and which contains no nonagri-cultural improvements installed after fi ling of the subdivision plat.

Section 2. This act is effective July 1, 2011.

What are they doing?

Sen. John Hines – R-Gillette Sponsered Bills in the 2011 Legislative session

Senator John Hines

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Public Pulse

Winners of the Campbell County Talent Show include (left to right in front, Alissa Huddleston (winner 7-9) Hailee Merchen (winner 2-3, overall winner), and Alisa Roll (winner 4-6); in back, Jordan T. Smith (winner adult) and Raleah Cisneros (10-12 winner). Chaylinn Stephens (K-1 winner) is not pictured.

Eight year old Hailee Merchen had happy tears at the Youth/Adult Talent Competition. She had performed sign language to “That’s What Friends Are For” in the Grades 2-3 category. Judges voted her category winner as she competed against Shaya Beck, Saranndon Madsen, and Alexis Poppleton. Hailee’s prize money totaled $300.00.

Category winners won $50 in cash. All participants received a certifi cate and a Campbell County Centennial lapel pin.

Chaylin Stephens won in the K-1 and danced to “But-terfl y Kisses.”

Alisa Roll, accompanied by Diana Rutz, sang “Some-where Over the Rainbow” won the grade 4-6 category. Larissa Alvarado and Faith Milhouse performed in the 4-6 group.

The competition level increased in the grade 7-9 category. Maria Acord (vocal solo), Electric City, a group of gymnasts from the Wyoming Academy of Gymnastics and Dance (Alissa Huddleston, Jolin Mills, Megan Volk, and Madison O’Dell), Matthew Mills (vocal solo/guitar), Kelsey Paige Nash (vocal solo) and a lyrical dance by Alissa Huddleston. Huddleston won the $50 category prize.

Raleah Cisneros, Miss Campbell County 2011, walked away with the high school division with her presentation of the popular song “Imagine.”

The toughest category of the night was the adult category. Jordan T. Smith, a local songwriter who has spent time in Nashville trying to get his break into the competitive world of country music, won this category with a song that he wrote called “Baby I’m Gone.” His competition included Paula Merchen (vocal solo), Missy Schillinger (vocal solo), Kiefer and Killeen Partridge (vo-cal duet), and Cyndi Rogers (vocal solo.)

Tough Competition Brings Out the Stars

9

Public Pulse

SPORTS BAR

We have a “Celebrity Chef” each Wednesday!

The Chef DRINKS FOR FREE!!!Please allow us to care cab

you home for this one.

1400 n. us hwy 14-16

Bike groups that host one large event each year with The Sports Bar will have two separate evenings

to raise money. The �nal Cruz Night will be donated to our favorite “non bikers” charity,

The Boys and Girls Club of Campbell County.

July 20 - Second BrigadeJuly 27 - CMAAug. 3 - BACCAAug. 10 - Elite FlysAug. 17 - UMFAug. 24 - WBAAug. 31 - Boys & Girls Club of Campbell County

To be in compliance with county ordinances we ask that patrons do not “burn out” when approaching the highway,!!!

The Sports Bar Cruz Nights are back!

It is a dark place that I am about to go. Before one can attempt what I am about to attempt there must be years of hard training cou-pled with real life experi-ence. This is not a place for the immature, or the faint of heart.

First, I breathe slowly and relax my muscles. Bottle of aspirin at the ready. Then I ease myself with a large cup of coffee, and a scone. Yes, I said large coffee. I don’t care how hard the girl behind the counter chides me. I refuse to say VENTI! There is small, medium, and large. I don’t even know what VENTI means. Don’t care.

Now, where was I? Oh yes. The Dark Place.

We are about to dive deeply into the murky wa-ters that are “LIBERAL THOUGHT!” If you don’t think that you can handle it, stop reading this now. If you want to give it a go, but are nervous, pour a stiff drink before you read the next paragraph.

Ok… Here we goSo, apparently the debt

crises we are in is caused by over spending Republi-cans and the fact that the Democrats outspent the overspending Republicans is to be ignored.

Apparently, the solution to overreaching big gov-ernment programs, over spending, over borrow-ing, and over taxation, is to allow those programs to overreach even more, spend more, borrow even more, and tax even more. Because, apparently, gov-ernment digging the hole deeper is the way out of the hole that government dug

us into.The Tea Party is made

up of “RACIST Right Wing Radical Suicide Vest Bombers who want to BLOW UP THE COUN-TRY!” (Did I miss any-thing?) Lord help us all that they have pointed out the mess that both the Repub-licans and Democrats have gotten us into. It is racist of the Tea Party to actually suggest that we live inside the boundaries set forth by the constitution. That we spend no more than the government takes in. That we do not borrow any more money. That we do not tax any more. OH --- and for the love of PETE can we read and understand the bills before we vote on them? Just a thought. But no, such thoughts are hate-ful and radical.

Apparently, the Tea Party is responsible for America’s downgrade from a AAA credit rating, even though the Washington Establish-ment Politicians got exactly what they wanted when we last increased the debt limit, with their promise that if we raised said limit our credit rating would not fall.

Apparently, all we have to do to get out of debt is print more money. But if that is true why do we need taxes? Why do we need to borrow money from China? If all we need to do is print more money they why don’t we just print more and not tax or borrow at all?

These days working hard and becoming successful is to be damned, but slothful-ness is to be rewarded by taking from those who have earned it and giving it to the slothful.

For some reason, don’t ask me why, it seems that all this time it has been the poor who provides jobs, and not the rich. Rich peo-ple need to have all of their wealth seized and given to the poor.

(Take a break. Down a fi st full of aspirin.)

It seems that people who have graduated from major Ivy League colleges with impressive degrees but have no real experience beyond the walls of aca-demia know more than the people who spend every day out in the real world liv-ing what the Ivy Leaguers have only theorized about.

For some reason, when these Ivy League theoreti-cians get something wrong, and they are always getting something wrong, the so-lution is to laud over them as if they are geniuses, give them promotions, rais-es, and lavish them with awards. But those of us in the real world are to be chastised, even, and espe-cially, when we are right.

For some reason, when the fraud, lies and deceit of “Climate Scientist” is point-ed out those who point it out are the ones who need to be investigated.

Strange, but we are now to think of it as racist when someone points out that being an illegal alien has always been ---- ILLEGAL!

(Don’t look at me like that I’m not making this stuff up. All of what I’m writing here as actually been said.)

Now, where was I? OH yes.

STRANGLY - the way to energy independence is to throw up as many roadblocks as possible to

Don’t try this at homeBy Glenn Woods

Bold Republic Weekly

To listen to Glenn Woods morning radio show tune in to 1270am KIML Gillette

Monday through Friday from 6 - 10 a.m.

Dear Editor:I would like to thank the

County Sheriff’s offi ce. I got pulled over without tags last week and re-ceived help. My van had been broken for the past 2 years and I fi nally fi xed it. So, I was driving to the courthouse from my home and got pulled over. The deputy did not give me a ticket, but followed me to the courthouse to make sure that I did not get pulled over. Way to protect and serve. Thank you very much, I am sorry I did not get your name. You are a good deputy for this com-munity.

Gene Ficks From Editor Keary Speer:Dear Gene,Thank you so much for

your letter! Too often to au-thority fi gures get placed in a category of being bad people but we have to re-member that they are just that, people! In fact, they are extraordinary people who put their lives on the line for us every day. I strongly believe in that the only reason to dislike po-lice or sheriffs is if you are doing something wrong, and in that case, they are not the ones to be dis-liked. They are here to protect and serve and I am so glad that this sheriff left an impression of kindness on you. He is just the kind of person we want around watching our backs’. I sin-cerely hope that he reads our paper and gets the pat on the back that he de-serves.

Dear Editor:I can’t believe that they

are putting another giant fl ower pot up in the City. Good thing we voted for a tax hike. Why are these guys still in offi ce? Are people that afraid to vote out incumbent?

Gerald Forseburge From Editor Nick De

Laat: Go to the City Coun-cil Meetings and the Coun-ty Commishiner meetings. They listen to you, but when there is no-one showing up to voice their concerns, how are they supposed to know? I keep telling peo-

ple to get involved, and I will say this again. Get in-volved. If you sign up on both local government’s e-mail list you will receive the meeting agenda’s be-fore every meeting. Then you can fi nd the issues that concern you and do some-thing about them.

Dear Editor:More taxes. Tax ciga-

rettes, alcohol, gas, and everything. We need more money. Now they are try-ing to tax pop and junk food for “our health.” Every campaign in the last elec-tion from Federal down to our local politicians here campaigned on lowering taxes. This has not even been attempted. They all lied. Remember that when you vote in the same peo-ple during the next election. Right now, over 50% of our hard earned money ulti-mately goes to taxes one way or another. I am sick of being looted.

Frank WilliamsonFrom Editor Nicholas

De Laat: I sincerely hope that you are not just com-plaining, but going out and doing something about it all. Letters to the editor help, because people read them and may want to get involved because of them. It also helps polititions who (hopefully) are reading the paper to get the voice of the people they represent. I personally agree, we are taxed too much, and from too many places. If we did not have such a tax bur-den, then we could use our money for better purposes; me for example, expanding my company quicker and hiring more people. We do need some taxes, but I believe minimizing them is the key to allow our free market to expand. In many cases, governments take on much more than they should. The key is to keep writing letters, contact your Representative or Senator, and get involved as much as possible. This includes educating yourself on how things work, there is much more to it all than just a simple answer.

Letters to the Editor

prevent companies from drilling and digging here in our own nation, then blame them for making too much profi t and over tax them.

OH and those cute little 5 year old girls selling lem-onade form a card table on their front lawn… fi ne them $50 and shut them down. Send them home in tears. They must be evil or some-thing.

Let’s see… We are all to live under universal health care, even though it has failed everywhere in the world, without exception. It is the best idea for America.

Ok --- I can’t go on. This is just too much. Please re-member, thinking like this is not easy. I am a trained professional. I do this for a living. Thinking is this way is not natural. It causes fi ts of rage, hemorrhages, brain tumors, and more.

If you made it this far into the article I suggest you take a strong drink, and then go play with your kids. Remember that this is still America. The inmates must not be allowed to run the asylum forever. This cannot be allowed.

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comment about news coverage, Contact us at [email protected]

10

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Sports Report

The Riders Baseball pro-gram will begin its annual Fall Baseball Program on Monday, August 22 at 6:00.

There will be a parent/

player information meeting to start off with at 6:00 on August 22 at Roughrider Stadium. Practice will then follow.

The program is open to all players with birth-years between 1993-1998.

Cost to play in the Fall Ball Program is $75.00.

To sign up please call or text Coach Perleberg at 307-689-4542.

Riders fall baseball program to begin Aug. 22By Ted Ripko - Basin Radio Sports

2011 Race ScheduleAugust13 - Regular Race20 - Regular Race, DIRTCAR Late Models, NAPA NIGHT27 - Season Ponts Championships

September03 - Closed08 thru 10 - East/West Clash, Sprint Cars

StandingsIMCA MODIFIEDS - Main Event

Finish Start Car Driver Hometown Race Points 1 7 E5K Eddie Kirchoff Gillette , Wy 40.00 2 2 7 Danny Allen - 39.00 3 4 4E Justin Elmer Buffalo , W 38.00 4 10 18Z Zane Devilbiss Farmington , Nm 37.00 5 6 71 Byran Bettchor Sheridan , Wy 36.00 6 8 33Y Justen Yeager Greenriver , Wy 35.00 7 1 02 Jeff Cooper Riverton , W 34.00 8 3 55M Anthony Miller Gillette , Wy 33.00 9 9 8 Randy Dolberg - 32.00 10 5 3B Brian Brennan Rozet , Wy 31.00

LIMITED LATE MODEL - Main Event Finish Start Car Driver Hometown Race Points 1 7 12 Danny Allen - 75.00 2 2 6 Jeff Gorsuch Gillette , Wy 70.00 3 6 2 Marty Erivez Gillette , Wy 65.00 4 3 99G Galen Guzenhauser Casper , Wy 60.00 5 5 C4 Toby Smith Gillette , W 55.00 6 4 01 Jason Snyder Gillette , W 50.00 7 8 8W John Smith , Wy 48.00

Thunder Stock - Main Event Finish Start Car Driver Hometown Race Points 1 5 80 Chad Horst Gillette , W 35.00 2 7 13S Seth Cavanaugh Gillette , Wy 33.00 3 8 80P Duane Haines Gillette , Wy 32.00 4 6 S16 Teresa Schuler Wright , Wy 31.00 5 4 01 Brittni Snyder Gillette , W 30.00 6 3 6 Chris Russell - 29.00 7 2 39 Mark Brandt Gillette , Wy 28.00 8 1 13T Austin Long Gillette , Wy 27.00

Thunder Stock - Heat 2 Finish Start Car Driver Hometown Race Points 1 4 80P Duane Haines Gillette , Wy 10.00 2 1 39 Mark Brandt Gillette , Wy 9.00 3 3 S16 Teresa Schuler Wright , Wy 8.00 4 2 01 Brittni Snyder Gillette , W 7.00

Thunder Stock - Heat 1 Finish Start Car Driver Hometown Race Points 1 1 13T Austin Long Gillette , Wy 10.00 2 4 13S Seth Cavanaugh Gillette , Wy 9.00 3 3 80 Chad Horst Gillette , W 8.00 4 2 6 Chris Russell - 7.00

Midwest Mod - Main Event Finish Start Car Driver Hometown Race Points 1 9 17 Troy Leiker Gillette , Wy 35.00 2 4 2J Jerry Martin Moorcroft, Wy 33.00 3 6 27 Scotty Fischer Gillette , W 32.00 4 12 1* Scott Edwards Gillette , Wy 31.00 5 14 10J Scott Joslyn Gillette , Wy 30.00 6 8 14 Kenny Bell Gillette , W 29.00 7 1 26 Ray Nash Evansvile , Wy 28.00 8 3 31 Kyle Harkin Hermosa , Sd 27.00 9 5 76 Boyd Abelseth Gillette , W 26.00 10 13 28S Cannon Slawson Gillette , Wy 25.00 11 15 2 Nick Slocum Evansville , Wy 24.00 12 10 23DB Maklain Harrison Gillette , Wy 23.00 13 2 23 Ernie Acuna Gillette , Wy 22.00 14 16 36 Eric Slocum Gillette , Wy 21.00 15 11 47 Kelly Blixt Clancy , Mt 20.00 16 7 34H Rob Hoffman Gillette , Wy 19.00

Midwest Mod - Heat 3 Finish Start Car Driver Hometown Race Points 1 1 17 Troy Leiker Gillette , Wy 10.00 2 2 27 Scotty Fischer Gillette , W 9.00 3 4 31 Kyle Harkin Hermosa , Sd 8.00 4 6 1* Scott Edwards Gillette , Wy 7.00 5 5 10J Scott Joslyn Gillette , Wy 6.00 6 3 2 Nick Slocum Evansville , Wy 5.00

Midwest Mod - Heat 2 Finish Start Car Driver Hometown Race Points 1 2 34H Rob Hoffman Gillette , Wy 10.00 2 4 76 Boyd Abelseth Gillette , W 9.00 3 3 23 Ernie Acuna Gillette , Wy 8.00 4 1 47 Kelly Blixt Clancy , Mt 7.00 5 5 28S Cannon Slawson Gillette , Wy 6.00

Midwest Mod - Heat 1 Finish Start Car Driver Hometown Race Points 1 3 2J Jerry Martin Moorcroft, Wy 10.00 2 1 26 Ray Nash Evansvile , Wy 9.00 3 4 14 Kenny Bell Gillette , W 8.00 4 5 23DB Maklain Harrison Gillette , Wy 7.00 5 2 36 Eric Slocum Gillette , Wy 6.00

Mod Four - Main Event Finish Start Car Driver Hometown Race Points 1 2 307 Tom Manning Gillette , Wy 35.00 2 3 70X Steve Schickentanz Casper , Wy 33.00 3 10 10 Todd Mccoy Gillette , Wy 32.00 4 7 50 Wade Manning Gillette , Wy 31.00 5 4 00 Benjie Bayne Casper , Wy 30.00 6 1 42 Dakota Estrada Cheyenne , Wy 29.00 7 5 55 Duane Manning Gillette , Wy 28.00 8 6 33 Robert Harley Casper , Wy 0.00 9 8 27 Gene Eckman Casper , Wy 0.00 10 9 15 Adam Blair Gillette , W 0.00

Mod Four - Heat 2 Finish Start Car Driver Hometown Race Points 1 2 307 Tom Manning Gillette , Wy 10.00 2 5 55 Duane Manning Gillette , Wy 9.00 3 4 50 Wade Manning Gillette , Wy 8.00 4 3 00 Benjie Bayne Casper , Wy 7.00 5 1 27 Gene Eckman Casper , Wy 6.00

Mod Four - Heat 1 Finish Start Car Driver Hometown Race Points 1 2 70X Steve Schickentanz Casper , Wy 10.00 2 4 10 Todd Mccoy Gillette , Wy 9.00 3 1 42 Dakota Estrada Cheyenne , Wy 8.00 4 5 33 Robert Harley Casper , Wy 7.00 5 3 15 Adam Blair Gillette , W 0.00

Gillette Thunder Speedway

Friday, August 12-Roughriders @ American

Legion World Series, Shelby, NC, TBA

-CCHS Marching Band Camp, 9 a.m.-4 p.m., North Campus

Saturday, August 13-Roughriders @ American


Sunday, August 14-Roughriders @ American


Monday, August 15-Roughriders @ American



-Gillette WILD Hockey Pre-Registration, 6-8 p.m., Rec. Center

-CCHS Cross Country- Time Trials, JV/V, 6 p.m., Camplex Park

Tuesday, August 16-Roughriders @ American



-Gillette WILD Hockey Pre-Registration, 6-8 p.m., Rec. Center

Wednesday, August 17-CCHS Marching Band

Camp, 9 a.m.-4 p.m., North Campus

Thursday, August 18-CCHS Marching Band


-CCSD Academies Picnic, 6-8 p.m., City Park

Friday, August 19-CCHS Marching Band


-CCHS Golf- Powell Invite JV/V, TBA

What’s Going On In Sports?

“I think Little League is wonderful. It keeps the

kids out of the house.”

- Yogi Berra

Patriot Publishing is a small publish-ing business start-ing up right here in Wyoming. We not only publish the Campbell County Observer and cal-endars, but any-thing in print. We will soon also have a monthly publica-tion that we think you will enjoy. If you have a book and can’t get a ma-jor company to pub-lish you, we are a new and American-owned publisher that may print your work. Please feel free to contact us at anytime with your idea.

P

atriot Publishing

Photo by John Lacek

11

Toys (ATV’s, Boats, etc.)

Toy Parts & Accessories

Home Appliances/Furnishings

Sporting Goods

Lost & Found

Personals

Boat for Sale with trailer. Needs work. Call 670-8980 for info.

2006 Cabella’s “Lowes Sun Cruizer” 20 ft. Pontoon 95 HP Mercury Outboard Motor (less than 50 hrs). Good Condition. Call 680-2982 or 696-7512.

Stock pipes for Sportster. 500mi. Stock pices for Dyna Wide Glide. 1500mi. Email [email protected] for info.

Small washer. Needs new belt, $25. Email [email protected]

Microfiber couch with 2 recliners com-bined. Green. $100 Call 299-4967.

Booth Table. L-shaped. With Chairs. Seats 6. $500.00 Call 299-4967

Like new Horizon Elliptical. $300 obo. Call 299-7058 for more info.

Wanted to BuyI Buy Militaria. Swords, uniforms, bayo-nets, medals, guns/parts, field gear. 682-7864

Newspaper vending machines. Contact us at: [email protected]

Interested in founding a Sherlock Holmes Society in Gillette? Contact [email protected] for info.

FOUND: one large trampoline. Currently located at 5350B M&M circle. If yours, please pick up any day any time. If not yours, do not trespass.

Autos, Trucks and Vans

Campers & Motor Homes

1981 Harley Davidson FXB-Sturgis, 1st dual-belt drive to commemorate Hill-Climb @ Sturgis, Jack-Pine Gypsies rally started in ‘41, 50th anniversary model. 12K on straight-up original paint, new Moetzler’s driven-by beefed Shovel, 102hp at wheel. Perfect in every aspect, serious inquiries only, loan is $15K and value of over 25K. Ben 680.7464, 3-other older bikes and this has to go to the right person!

2008 Hyundai Sonata LMTD, 40,000 mi. $13,500, Call 307-660-2532.

‘76 Electra-Glide would consider trade on Pan or Knuck if ya know of anyone, ‘81 sent it to LA-S&S, 11.5to1 and dual-plugged to run regular-gas, had burn-out time at Hog-Jam! Ben 680.7464.

1994 Ford Ranger. Black. With Topper. Runs Good. 85k Miles. 2300 obo. Call 307-299-0223

1997 32ft. Class A Motor Home. Sleeps 6, Only 31,000 Miles. Asking $17,000. Call (307) 660-7520.

Large Private RV/Camper Lot for rent. Big yard, trees. All utilities available. $400 per month, $400 deposit. 1 year lease. Call (307) 660-1007.

Local journalists wanted. Always wanted to try? Must be 16 yrs of age. Contact us at [email protected]

Advertising Sales for our weekly paper. Great commission rate, set your own hours. Contact us at [email protected]

Contributors wanted for weekly newspa-per. Need a doctor, a Politician, a lawyer, and more to contribute an article a month. E-mail [email protected] for more information.

Sports writers, event writers wanted. Gil-lette, Write, Recluse, Rozet. Call 670-8980.

Help Wanted

Minnows, crawlers, leeches, fishing tackle, boating and camping supplies. Fully furnished cabin rentals, 50 Amp Full Hookup RV sites 5 minutes from Key-hole Reservoir in Pine Haven. Empire Guesthouse & RV Park 307-756-3454. www.empireguesthouse.com

Camping/Fishing

Home for sale by owner in Western Way. Asking $239,000 for the 1,800 sq. ft. 3 bedroom 2 bath home with an unfinished basement and a two car garage. Fully fenced, large landscaped yard with a sprinkler system. Home is within walking distance to the new recreation center and the new elementary school that is being built. Please contact me at 307-670-1209 if you are interested.

Homes for Sale

Welsh Corgi Puppies. 3 females, and two males. 682-2598

Pets

Cook needed at Lu La Bells. Motivated and Energetic. Days Only. Apply at Lu La bells.

1-5 bedroom units available for rent. Please contact Real Estate Systems of Gillette Inc at 307-682-0964 for all the up-dated details.

Apartments for Rent

Tri-level house for sale 4 bed 2 bath $209,000 (307) 670-1925.

- LIMITED TIME ONLY - Free Classified Ad - 10 words or less

(Private ownership only - No businesses)For more details visit

www.campbellcountyobserver.com or call (307) 670-8980

WILL PAY CASH FOR CAMPERS. Call Scott (307) 680-0854.

Our Roots

ClassifiedsHeavy Equipment/Trailers

6x10 trailer. Great shape, fits your biggest Harley. $1,400 obo. 299-4967.

“The spirit of resistance to government is so valuable on

certain occasions, that I wish it always to be kept alive.”

- Thomas Jefferson - 2nd President of the United States

Joke of the weekSubmitted by Gale Jennings

Late one night a mugger, wearing a ski mask, jumped into a path of a well-dressed man and stuck a gun in his ribs “give me your money,” he demanded. Indignant, the affluent man replied, “you can’t do this – I am a United States congressman!” “In that case,” replied the mugger, “give me MY money.”

Who will be the next GOP candidate for President?

Ron Paul 50.67% (38 votes) Herman Cain 16% (12 votes) Mitt Romney 9.33% (7 votes) Newt Gingrich 4% (3 votes) Jim McMillan 4% (3 votes) Roy Moore 2.67% (2 votes) Michele Bachmann 2.67% (2 votes) Andy Martin 2.67% (2 votes) Vern Wuensche 1.33% (1 votes) Buddy Roemer 1.33% (1 votes) Tim Pawlenty 1.33% (1 votes) John Greenspon 1.33% (1 votes) Jon Huntsman 1.33% (1 votes) Thadd McCotter 1.33% (1 votes) Rick Santorum 0% (0 votes) Gary Johnson 0% (0 votes) Fred Karger 0% (0 votes)

Visit www.campbellcountyobserver.comto vote in our Poll of the Week

When they found them-selves on Alcatraz, it was not long before they be-gan to devise the plan. The three men, along with a fourth participant, Al-len West, began cutting through the walls of their cells. They took turns each night, letting one man dig while the others kept a look out. While this was ongoing, they also began carving dummy heads out of prison materials such as scraped cement, soap, and actual hair. The next part of the plan involved taking raincoats, cutting the seams, and refashion-ing them into a working raft and flotation devices.

After all the preparation was complete, they began loosening the ventilator grill on top of their cell house, so that they had a way onto the outside of the building. As it turns out, West could not get far enough into his wall to ensure a quick es-cape to the vent, and it would be his downfall in the plot.

The night of June 11, 1962, Morris announced it

was time. The men laid the dummy heads onto their cots, with the covers pulled up, and left their cells. Mor-ris and the Anglin brothers quickly made their way onto the roof, where they then climbed down, and inflated their raft. West, however, was too slow in escaping his cell, and by the time he got to the roof had completely lost sight of the others. Figuring they had already taken the raft, leaving him no way off the island, he went back to his cell.

Meanwhile, the three men were on their way off Alcatraz and into history. The only question that re-mains, however, is this: Did they make it?

No one knows for sure. West testified that their plan was to go to nearby Angel Island, then proceed to the mainland where they would steal a car and go their separate ways. How-ever, no evidence of a camp was ever found on Angel Island, and no car thefts were reported on the mainland in the days fol-

lowing the escape. Making things even more interest-ing, no raft, paddles, or bodies have ever been dis-covered either.

Did they perish in the wa-ter, or did they succeed so astoundingly that the even the FBI’s top experts could not find them? One thing we know for certain is that they did succeed in some-thing: They succeeded in creating a mystery that will entertain the minds of gen-erations to come.

From the Campbell Coun-ty Observer Staff: Congrat-ulations to Mike Borda and his wife Page for the great news they received. They will be adding their first new addition to their fam-ily. Best wishes from all of us Mike and Page! As you know, Mike has been with us since the first issue, and has done a great job at the American “Our Roots” sec-tion. What he doesn’t know, is that now he will have more time for research dur-ing those long nightly hours of rocking a crying baby!

Escape from Alcatraz PrisonBy Mike Borda

It was June 1962. Around the world, President John F. Kennedy was giving commencement speeches at prestigious colleges such as Yale and West Point. The World Cup was underway in Chile, and civil war was raging in Algeria. However, to three men this all meant nothing. To them, there was only one goal, and they would do whatev-er it took to complete it. The men were Clarence Anglin, John Anglin, and Frank Morris. The goal: Escape from the Alcatraz Prison.

The men came from very different parts of the coun-try, but managed to find themselves on the same island after very similar careers. Clarence and John Anglin were born in Donalsonville, Georgia. It was a typical southern small town, where the boys worked as farmers in their early years. However, by the mid 1950’s they had started robbing banks, and were caught soon after.

Frank Morris, born in Washington D.C., started his career out small; with a handful of drug charges before moving up to armed robbery. This charge would ultimately send him to Alca-traz, though not before IQ testing determined he was in the top 3% of humans in regards to intelligence.

The men met first, how-ever, at Atlanta Penitentia-ry, in the late 1950’s. It was perhaps this chance meet-ing that set the stage for one of the most dramatic prison escape attempts in history.

12

Our Roots

Behind every larger-than-life Western Hero there was the person who made them into the household name they are today. It sim-ply was not enough to have braved a raging blizzard to save a wagon train, to kill a grizzly bear with one’s bare hands, or to fight off 1,000 savage Indians sin-gle-handedly for ten days. Without a diligent scribe to document those heroic moments for the masses, those deeds would be mostly unheard of and cer-tainly forgotten within one’s lifetime. And so, a cottage industry of image-makers to the frontiersmen was born, and the exploits of ev-eryone from Davy Crocket to Billy the Kid were pack-aged for posterity by writers with a flair for the dramatic and a nose for a good ad-venture yarn. Actual facts were, of course, optional. Their operational credo: Never let the Truth get in the way of a good Story!

Just about every icon of the Old West had a publi-cist, either official or unoffi-cial. Calamity Jane had Ed-ward Wheeler; Buffalo Bill had Ned Buntline; George A. Custer had George A. Custer. Occasionally the legend overcame the actual person it was based on and that person, in turn, found themselves pressured into living up to their own image ever after.

Even lesser known per-sonages of the west were caught up in trying to cash-in on their life-sto-ries. Often, for them and their publicists, the chance to sell their experiences represented not only last-ing fame, but a retirement pension when their adven-turing days were behind them. Such was the case for Frank Grouard and Joe DeBarthe.

Grouard, a military scout for most of his adult life, and DeBarthe, a playwright, drama critic and composer, turned newspaper pioneer and editor, first met in 1887 at Fort Washakie, where Grouard was posted at the time. Almost immediately DeBarthe floated the idea of writing a biography which Grouard rejected just as quickly. By 1891, however, fate brought the two men together again in Buffalo Wyoming, where DeBarthe had become part-owner and Editor of the Buffalo Bulletin, and Grouard was serving as chief of scouts at Fort McKinney. This time Grouard reluctantly agreed to tell DeBarthe the story

of his life for the purpose of publication and profit. And the rest is History… or at least a rip-roaring adven-ture tale.

The book that resulted, “The Life and Adventures of Frank Grouard, Chief of Scouts, U. S. A.”, was pub-lished in 1894. The story it tells is entertaining and full of lesser-known factoids of many Old West personag-es, or as it would be char-acterized by book revues today, “a real page-turning thrill-ride from cover to cov-er.” There is just one prob-lem. Probably a good 70 percent of it is pure bunk. It is sad, really, because Frank Grouard really saw and experienced enough real-life adventures to pro-duce a great work of histori-cal literature. But, in their zeal to tell the life story of one of the more interesting, and important players in the Indian wars of the northern plains, DeBarthe, either with or without the complic-ity of Frank Grouard, wrote a book filled with whoppers.

Because of the inaccura-cies contained in the book, rather than achieving the intended goal of immortal-izing its subject matter, it has had the opposite effect over time. Nothing con-tained within its pages can be taken at face value. The true parts are so overshad-owed by the blatant false-hoods and highly improb-able events that they are rejected as well. Here are a few of the highlights:

Born in 1850, Grouard, according to himself, was the second son of a Mor-mon missionary father, and a Polynesian mother. So the story goes, shortly after moving to America, his mother became ill and returned to the islands, leaving young Frank and his brother in the care of relatives, who raised the boys in Utah. This was later disputed by Grouard’s brother-in-law, Billy Gar-nett, who believed Grouard to the son of a Hunkpapa Sioux woman and an Af-rican-American man; and two years after Grouards death a woman came for-ward claiming to be Frank’s half-sister and that his real name was Walter Brazeau. Actually, the best evidence is that, in this one thing at least, Grouard was telling the truth. During the publi-cation of the book, Grouard was reunited with his mis-sionary father in Sheridan Wyoming. His father said that he had heard that Frank had been captured

The Great Scout and His Publicist

By Jeff Morrison

by Indians and believed dead in 1876, but learned of the publication of the book and, when he realized he was still living, made arrangements (probably through DeBarthe)for a re-union.

When he was 15, Grouard began hauling freight be-tween Salt Lake City Utah and Helena Montana. Somewhere around this time, Grouard claimed he was with Liver Eating John-son, better known to us as Jeremiah Johnson, when he received his nickname. According to Grouard, and contrary to the official ver-sion, Johnson became frustrated at an antelope he was shooting at and vowed to eat its liver raw if he ever managed to kill it, eventu-ally making good on his threat. Interesting, if true, and certainly more family-friendly than eating the liv-ers of fallen Crow enemies in revenge for the death of his wife.

Grouard was captured by Black Feet Indians and later abandoned in some woods where he was found by Sioux. He was adopted by Sitting Bull but later moved to Crazy Horse’s camp and became friends with the war chief, who Grouard described as “the bravest man I ever met.” That, of course, is accord-ing to the biography. Anoth-er possibility is that he was sold to the Sioux and Sit-ting Bull assumed he was Indian due to his dark skin and spared his life. In any case he escaped and found his way to Camp Robinson in Nebraska where he be-came employed as a scout for General Crook.

Crook came to rely heavily on his new scout, and Grouard would serve with distinction during the Sioux war of 1876, dur-ing several skirmishes and battles, including the Battle of the Rose Bud. On one such occasion, Grouard and fellow scout, “Big Bat” Pourier, during an armed reconnaissance on July 5, ran into a large war party of Cheyenne, moving south from the Little Big Horn val-ley where they had partici-pated in the battle with the 7th Cavalry that resulted in the deaths of General Custer and his immediate command. Heavily out-gunned and outnumbered, Grouard and Pourier con-vinced the lieutenant in charge of the scout not to fight but to abandon their horses and hike into the Big Horn mountains via a box canyon and thereby sneak back to Crook’s encampment near pres-ent day Sheridan. They returned without losing a man. Fortunately, this deed was recorded by a corre-spondent, John F. Finerty, who rode with them and not DeBarthe.

Ironically, this story con-tradicts one of the more sensational claims made in Grouard’s biography. Finerty correctly stated that on July 5th, no word of Custer’s defeat had reached General Crook’s camp. However, Grouard claims to have seen smoke signals around 9 or 10 in the morning of June 25th and deduced from them that Indians were engaged in a fight with troops and were winning. The officers scoffed at the idea that he could learn all this from the smoke, so he decided to prove it. These smoke sig-nals must have been pro-phetic as well as informa-tive. The 7th had not even reached the Little Big Horn Valley at 10 a.m. on the 25th and they would not en-gage the Indian camp until 3 p.m.

Never the less, according to Grouard he rode from Crook’s encampment on

Little Goose Creek to the Little Big Horn battlefield, a distance of over 40 miles, arriving around 11:30 p.m. He then managed to find the trail where Custer divid-ed his command into four parts and miraculously fol-lowed the trail Custer took, somehow missing Major Reno and the seven com-panies dug in on the ridge on the way, and found the dead bodies of Custer’s command in the dark. He then proceeded to return, again missing Reno, and was chased by Indians all 40 miles back to camp. Apparently he forgot to mention all this to General Crook.

To relate all of the imag-inative, albeit false, claims made by Grouard, speak-ing through DeBarthe, would take far more space than is available here. But of all these stories, there is one Grouard, with his amazingly detailed memo-ries, seems to have com-pletely forgotten.

During the Nez Pierce campaign in 1877, Grouard, along with a few other in-terpreters, was asked to speak to Crazy Horse and other chiefs about scout-ing for the army against the Nez Pierce. During the dis-cussions, Crazy Horse told Grouard that he would go and “fight until all the Nez Pierce were wiped out”, which Grouard, whether accidently or deliberately is not known, translated as “fight until all the white men are wiped out”. He was im-mediately challenged by the other interpreters, one of which was his brother-in-law, Billy Garnett. He became indignant and left the council and later tried to back-pedal on the inter-

pretation when it resulted in Crazy Horse’s arrest and death after the chief panicked and tried to run while being led to the guard house at Fort Robinson.

Whatever fortune Joe De-Barthe and Frank Grouard envisioned coming out of the proceeds of the biogra-phy, not much materialized. Joe DeBarthe left the Bul-letin on the same week as the Johnson County War; he resurfaced in Sheridan where he became editor of the Sheridan Enterprise. By 1909, however, his proper-

ties in the Big Horn basin and in Sheridan were being sold at public auction for unpaid tax debt.

Frank Grouard remained at Fort McKinney until his failing eyesight forced him to retire. Army pensions were non-existent for civil-ian contractors in the 1890s and it wasn’t long before Grouard was scraping for a living as a day laborer. In 1905 he was hospitalized in St. Joseph Missouri and died that fall of pneumonia. He was 55 years old, and dead broke.

Hold the Date!e2e Gillette, August 24, 2011

5:30 PM - 7:00 PMClarion Inn & Convention Center

2009 S. Douglas Hwy. Gillette, WY 82718

e2e welcomes Fred Dowd, Senior Partner at Dowd-Rudkin, LLC.“Work Smarter, Not Harder”

We have all heard this phrase before but can this really be accomplished? Fred Dowd, Senior Partner at Dowd-Rudkin LLC, will tackle this topic as well as share experi-ences from his remarkable career in investment manage-ment. He has developed some creative techniques to help employees balance their work and family life while increas-ing productivity.

Fred is an accomplished money manager who ranked in the top 2% nationally from 1985 to 2005 only behind the likes of Warren Buffett. Recently, Mr. Dowd started a “boutique investment” firm with Reed Rudkin, recent UW College of Business graduate, in Buffalo, WY. Their goal is work closely with clients to build wealth using Mr. Dowd’s proven approach.

Hot hors d’oeuvres and a hosted bar will be provided.

To learn more and to let us know if you can attend: Please call 307-766-6395

Event fee included with e2e membership.

For e2e membership information contact WTBC at 307-766-6395 or visit http://www.uwyo.edu/wtbc/join.html

Documents

August 12-19, 2011