FRIDAY, JULY 3, 2020 — BRIDGER VALLEY PIONEER — PAGE A5

News

Westward Ho!They don’t call Wyoming The Cowboy State for

nothing; the state’s Wild West Heritage is well known and celebrated where you’d least expect it, says the Association of Mature American Citizens [AMAC]. In fact, they built a whole 900 acre town on New Zealand’s North Island that could easily fool a

WEATHERWEATHER

Friday: Sunny, with a high near 81. Light southwest wind becom-ing west southwest 9 to 14 mph in the afternoon.

Friday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 50. West wind 8 to 13 mph becoming light and variable.

Independence Day: Sunny, with a high near 83. Light south south-west wind becoming west south-west 6 to 11 mph in the afternoon.

Saturday Night: Mostly clear, with a low around 49.

Sunday: Sunny, with a high near 83.

Sunday Night: Mostly clear, with a low around 48.

Monday: Sunny, with a high near 83.

Monday Night: Mostly clear, with a low around 49.

Tuesday: Sunny, with a high near 82.

Tuesday Night: Mostly clear, with a low around 49.

Wednesday: Sunny, with a high near 81.

Wednesday NIght: Clear, with a low around 51.

Thursday: Sunny, with a high near 87.

Thursday: Clear, with a low around 47.

PIONEER PHOTO/Virginia Giorgis

Today’s Tidbit 19th Century Wyoming cowboy. It comes complete with a genuine frontier saloon, a sheriff’s office and ten realistic buildings, including a ranch house that doubles as a hotel able to accommodate 22 guests and that rents out at the rate of $5,000 a night. And, it’s all up for sale for just $7.5 million. International bidders have already expressed interest, according to the folks at Sotheby’s International.

— From Filler Files by AMAC

By Nick ReynoldsCasper Star-TribuneVia Wyoming News Exchange

CASPER — Gov. Mark Gordon’s office says it could submit its first formal bid for 5 million acres of Occiden-tal Petroleum-owned land in southern Wyoming next week in what would be the first of-ficial step in closing one of the largest public land purchases in American history.

Wednesday was the initial deadline for the state to bid on the property — which includes one million acres of “checker-board” surface lands as well as 4 million acres of mineral rights. The State Loan and In-vestment Board would have needed to convene publicly to approve an initial, non-binding bid for the land.

After some complications, however, that date has been extended by one week after the state was unable to issue a public notice of the bid in time to meet the initial deadline.

“The state has been grant-ed an extension to bid until July 8,” Michael Pearlman, a spokesperson for the gover-nor, wrote in an email. “This is a new process for a public entity to be involved in and we are grateful to Occidental for recognizing the public re-quirements that allow the state to consider this opportunity.”

The State Loan and Invest-ment Board, which is made up of the state’s top five elected officials (governor, treasurer, auditor, secretary of state and superintendent of public in-struction), is charged with making investment decisions on behalf of Wyoming taxpay-ers and has been the group leading the state’s foray into a potential purchase of the Occidental-owned land in an effort to bolster the state’s finances.

The potential deal was first made public this winter and was pitched by Gordon as a way to “invest in ourselves” and reduce the state’s depen-dency on more volatile forms of revenue in the state’s invest-ment portfolio. However, the expected cost of the land deal

Questions surface regarding Occidental land purchase

— estimated to be upward of $1 billion — has given pause to many, particularly as the state faces unprecedented declines in revenue over the next sev-eral years.

Others have reservations about the lack of transparency in the deal which, because of the involvement of a private company, is not subject to the same public meetings regula-tions as other investments made by the state.

After the governor vetoed a bill that would have given the Wyoming Legislature oversight authority over the deal, the executive branch has regularly met in closed-door meetings in an effort to evaluate the pur-chase and determine whether it is a prudent investment for the state. Next week, likely Monday, will be the first time the group will meet publicly to discuss the sale and, po-tentially, vote on what might be the largest public land sale since the Alaska Purchase in the 19th century.

To date, all of this has been done without extensive input from the Legislature at a time when the state finds itself in dire fiscal straits.

“There is a separation of power and the legislature does not operate the state’s investment portfolio,” Pearl-man wrote in an email. “The Governor has been providing legislative leadership with regular updates.”

The announcement comes on the heels of numerous concerns by lawmakers and transparency advocates who have criticized the deal, which is being carried out by the executive branch under a pro-cess requiring no legislative oversight. To date, little public mention of the deal has been made, with most conversations on the deal taking place in executive session of the invest-ment board.

While Gordon said in an interview Tuesday that he has kept legislative leadership ap-prised of new developments in

See OCCIDENTAL, page A7

Bridger Valley Baptist Church504 E. Clark, Lyman787-3402Pastor Aaron Green

Sunday School .................... 9:45 a.m.Morning Worship .............10:50 a.m.Evening Service ........................6 p.m.Mid-Week Service .........Wed., 7 p.m.

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

Chapels in Urie,Mountain View, and LymanCall 787-3230 for times

First Presbyterian Church3rd & Pine, Mountain View782-6711Pastor Sara Shields

Sunday School .................... 9:30 a.m.Fellowship .........................10:30 a.m.Worship ..............................11:30 a.m.

Communion & Fellowship Hour First Sunday of each month

St. Helen’s Catholic ChurchMission & Center, Fort Bridger782-6190

Sunday Mass ...........................11 a.m.CCD Classes (grades K-12)....10 a.m.Holy Day Mass..... ......5:30 p.m. on the

night prior to Holy Day

Shepherd of the Valley Lutheran ChurchMissouri Synod

306 County Road 224, Fort Bridger782-6802Pastor Daniel Mulholland

Sunday School ..........................9 a.m.Fellowship & Refreshments .10 a.m.Worship ..............................10:30 a.m.

Sponsored by: CHILDREN’S LEARNING FOUNDATION1021 Hwy 414, Mountain View • 307-782-7040 • DIRECTOR: Becky Ferguson

CHILD CARE FOR ALL AGES

MVF Church Gateway87 Meadow Street, Urie307-747-5419www.mvfchurch.comFacebook-MVF Church Gateway

Sunday Worship ...............10:30 a.m.MVF Kids ............................10:30 a.m.

Heart of the Valley Baptist Church(Southern Baptist)

280 7th Street, Mountain View782-7522Pastor Joe Reynolds, 782-6616Youth Pastor Butch Hansen - 307-840-0967

Sunday School .................... 9:45 a.m.Morning Worship ...................11 a.m.Evening Worship ......................6 p.m.Bible Study .....................Wed., 6 p.m.Youth Event ....................Wed., 6 p.m.

Bridger Valley Assembly of God

2705 N. Highway 414, Mountain View

786-2303Pastor Bob Yothers

Sunday School .................... 1:30 p.m.Sunday Worship .......................3 p.m.

Churches – Please call us with any changes (787-3229)

or e-mail rsingleton@

bridgervalleypioneer.com

Senior Citizens Menu

Monday, July 6Monday, July 6Breaded Chicken Sandwich w/Mayo, Lettuce & Pickles,

Waffle Fries, Baked Beans, WatermelonTuesday, Tuesday, July 7July 7

Chef Salad w/ Carrot Stick, Ham/ Turkey & Cheese,Italian Dressing, Crackers, Chocolate Chip Cookie

Wednesday, July 8Wednesday, July 8Porcupine Meatballs, Au Gratin Potatoes, Green Beans,

Garlic Roll, Pear CrispThursday, Thursday, July 9July 9

Philly Steak Sandwich, Rosemary Red Potatoes, Banana Wafer Pudding

Friday, Friday, July 10July 10Herb Pork Roast, Mashed Potatoes Gravy, Vegetable

Roll, Applesauce, German Choc Cake

. ALL MEALS SERVED WITH FRUIT, VEGETABLES AND BREAD**MENU SUBJECT TO CHANGE WITHOUT NOTICE **

*Meals are provided curbside. Please call the center so we know how much to prepare. We are allowed to bring food to your home if you call the day before to order. For ages 60 and older with a current AGNES.

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