Campbell County Observer

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Week of April 15 - 22, 2011

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“Health Buddies”Support for Medicaid Clients

Contact: Kim DetiPhone: 307-777-6420“Health Buddies” to Support Wyoming Medicaid ClientsCertain selected Wyoming EqualityCare (Medicaid) clients are beginning to use “Health Buddy” devices for a cost-effective connection to enhanced medical care as part of a new Wyoming Department of Health effort.The new Healthy Together Health Buddy Project, designed especially for the Wyoming EqualityCare (Medicaid) program, will connect certain clients to medical professionals who will directly monitor their health status using tele-health technology.The Health Buddy is a small, easy-to-use device that is placed in a client’s home and is attached to a phone line. The system asks patients a series of individualized and interactive questions. “For patients, it basically involves logging in to a computer over the phone line so that you can answer important questions every day about your health condition,” said Dr. James Bush, Medicaid medical director with the Wyoming Department of Health. “The system also allows for sharing important data such as blood pressure readings or sugar levels.”“For example, we know Medicaid clients who have experienced heart failure are frequently candidates for expensive hospital readmission. This is both costly

to endure so we want to help them avoid future hospital stays or complex procedures,” Bush said.“With this program, we can set up a Health Buddy device in a heart patient’s home,” Bush continued. “Using the Health Buddy, the patient can answer daily questions about medications and potential symptoms such as shortness of breath or weight gain.”

managers, under a contract with the

Aging and Disabilities Conference Set for CheyenneWith a theme of “Powering toward the future,” the 2011 Wyoming United for Aging and Disabilities conference will be held May 3-5 in Cheyenne.The conference, hosted by the Wyoming Department of Health’s Aging Division, will be held at the Little America Hotel and Resort. Conference sessions will cover a variety of topics related to the human

and substance abuse, and disabilities, including developmental disabilities.The keynote/banquet speaker will be Dr. Walter Bortz. Bortz is one of America’s

aging and is a clinical associate professor of medicine at Stanford University.Additional session topics include the Wyoming Aging and Disabilities Resource Center, Green House Living, Accessing

Disabilities Panel: Shifting to Self-Direction Care Plans, Multicultural Aging, Medication Use and Abuse, Healthcare

Wyoming Department of Health, will staff the project. These nurses will monitor information submitted by patients and

detect potential problems or increased symptoms of concern. “Depending on the case and the patient’s needs, they may call that patient to discuss their condition or they may help ensure the patient visits a doctor,” Bush said.“The Health Buddy system has been used for a number of years in other programs such as the Department of Veterans

“It’s been proven to reduce the number of hospitalizations and costs associated with managing chronic illnesses.”Bush noted the initial project is limited to 100 patients. “Because we are interested in better patient care and cost avoidance through improved prevention, we are focusing on cases with the highest rate of expense and use,” he said. “We hope to expand the program should we see the good results we expect.”The Health Buddy effort is part of the Healthy Together program offered to all Wyoming EqualityCare clients at no cost. The program, which is operated by APS Healthcare, provides one-on-one support from a nurse, educational materials to encourage the self-management of health and help in coordinating care among multiple providers. Healthy Together also provides EqualityCare clients with information on weight loss, smoking cessation and how to adopt healthy lifestyles. For more information on Healthy Together please contact APS Healthcare at 1-888-545-1710 extension 7089 or visit www.WYHealthyTogether.com.The Health Buddy devices are provided by Robert Bosch Healthcare Inc., a leading provider of innovative tele-health systems. For more information, please contact Edie DeVine at 415-365-8543 or visit www.bosch-telehealth.com.

Reform, Reverse Mortgages, and theAging/Mental Health/DevelopmentDisabilities Panel.A pre-conference session the morningof May 3 from 9 to 11 a.m. will cover emergency preparedness. A post-conference session on May 5 from 12:30 to 5 p.m. will cover emergencypreparedness training in detail.The conference registration fee is $150 before April 24 and $175 after April 25. Online registration is available at http://guest.event.com/d/ldqb91/1Q. Formore information about attending theconference please call the Aging Division at 1-800-442-2766 or send an email to [email protected] conference is sponsored in part by theWyoming Department of Health’s Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services Division, the Wyoming Departmentof Health’s Development Disabilities Division, and AARP.Contact: Kim DetiPhone: 307-777-6420

Aging and DisabilitiesConference for Cheyenne

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Gillette Gun Show Biggest YetBy Keary Speer

Outdoor living was the theme of this event but you did not have to be a gun-enthusiast to enjoy and appreciate the World Class Deer Display and Gun Show that went on all of this past week-end. The Central Pavilion at the Cam-plex was packed from wall to wall, with vendors and spectators throughout the event. It was an amazing visual to take in the sea of people browsing the tables and displays. Every time you turned your head you would be greeted with a unique and exciting object that had the place buzzing with excitement.

The building was filled with merchan-dise like gun cases, AK-47’s, AR-15’s, a wide range of pistols, rifles, hunting knives, fishing equipment and they even came in colors like pink and purple just for the ladies .Despite the title, the show was not all about guns and hunt-ing. There was a wide array of things to marvel at and purchase fit for people of all interests.

The amount of antiques and col-

lectibles was astounding. Coins from around the world, World War II post-ers, hard-cover books, old fashioned grenades, Navy swords and, yes, more guns and knives gave the event a great sense of history. You could literally reach out and touch objects over 100 years old. Talented artists displayed framed wildlife paintings, photos and even Wyoming art-deco influenced im-ages of General Custer. Leather works, wood carvings, dream catchers, silver smithing and antler, bone, and ivory carved jewelry added to the overwhelm-ing variety provided by the vendors. It was an event where a man could buy a revolver and his wife could buy a pair of earrings and a purse or even do a little clothes shopping for the entire family.

Eastman’s Hunting Journal was pres-ent with an impressive display of mount-ed deer from all over the Northwest. The long row of deer heads each contained a unique feature making them trophy-worthy mounts. It was an eye catcher to

all but especially pleasing to the many children who joined their parents for the day.

This show is put on annually by The Gillette Gun Club, the local trap and fir-ing range.The Gun Club is a community place looking out for our children. The funds from this enormously successful trade show go to support 4-H kids who have an interest in shooting. In the past the funds have also provided many kids who participate with or work for the club with college scholarships.

If you missed the show this year, there is no need to worry. Judging by its wild success and turnout it will definitely be back next year. If you just cannot wait an entire year you can also visit their website, www.gillettegunclub.com. Not only is there a list of upcoming gun and trade shows around the area, but there is also a fountain of information on how you can involve yourself with the Gil-lette Gun Club.

President Obama

announces death of

bin Laden

By Karen Waters

On Sunday, May 1, 2011, President Barak Obama informed the nation and the world of the death of al Qaida’s leader Osama bin Laden. This was af-ter 10 years of searching for the master-mind of the 9-11 attacks.

The President’s speech was delayed at least three times, while DNA testing confirmed the identity and the body was laid to rest at sea.

Both Presidents George W. Bush and Obama have stated “Justice has been done.”

At least one Twitter account gave a play by play description of the assault on bin Laden’s compound in the city of Abbottabad. This is a small town in Pakistan with heavy military tradition, not limited to Pakistan’s version of West Point. Bin Laden’s compound can be seen from this academy.

This reporter received a message from a retired American military offi-cer, prior to the official announcement, speaking on the condition of annanimity as he did not have all the facts and was not at liberty to disclose information. The message was “We got him. Bullitt to the brain. And we got the body.”

This information has since been dis-closed to official media outlets.

YouTube has an unconfirmed image of bin Laden with two bullet wounds to the head visible.

An informal count of comments post-ed on YouTube by this reporter showed approximately two out of three respon-dents relieved or happy at the death, while the other third were angry and mentioning martyrdom and retaliation.

President Obama has admitted knowledge of the compound since Au-gust but, chose to wait for confirmation and additional Intel.

Al Qaida and bin Laden have taken responsibility for the September 11 at-tacks on the World Trade Center, the Pentagon and flight 93. They have also been blamed for the 1998 bombings of two American embassies in Africa and the 2000 attack on the USS Cole. Al Qaida was also responsible for the be-heading of Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl in Feb. 2002. A video of this beheading has just recently been allowed back on the web.

Several Gillette military and former military personnel were asked for their opinions on the death of bin Laden. While all felt it was not their place to be quoted in this paper, they all expressed the same words. “Good. It sends a message. You can run but, you can’t hide forever.”

May 1 is nationally recognized as Ho-locaust Remembrance Day.

From the Editor: We were not going to publish a story about the terrorist’s death. From the beginning we stated that only issues that affect Campbell County is all we will report. However, after thought, this does affect us. The Country should be in celebration. We should have fireworks, flare guns, and people rejoicing. We should have BBQ’s, toasts, and children running around waving little American Flags. The mastermind behind Sept. 11 is dead, killed by the most elite unit in the world, and celebrate we will.

Sleepy Hollow will soon have a gas option. In the annual budget meeting last week, the homeowners and the board agreed to allow Source Gas to bore-drill the main line.

“We are banking on that people will want to tie into the line” said a repre-sentative of source gas. “We will pay for the main pipeline, but the homeowner is responsible for the tie-in, and the piping through their house, including buying all new appliances.”

Most of Sleepy Hollow runs on electric. However, there are numerous houses that run on individual propane tanks. Propane was one subject discussed at the board meeting by the homeowners.

“It is dangerous, and the gas line would be much safer” said one resident.

The conversation got heated when Source Gas stated that they are start-ing construction on May 1st, and home-owners were afraid of the reproduc-tions. “What happens if your bore-hole causes a sink hole in my driveway a few years down the road?” asked one resi-dent. “And what about my lawn?” asked another. The board then stated that they wanted a contract drawn up by the com-pany and approved by the board before any construction can start. The repre-sentative from Source Gas said that no other neighborhood had asked for such a thing and that Sleepy Hollow should

take their word that they will do the right thing. “I don’t trust you, we have seen what companies do around here during the booms, and we don’t want to pay for those.”

When asked for a raise of hands, ev-eryone on the room (which included 5 board members and 25+ homeowners) said that they would want gas, but only provided that there is a contract to fix all damages, including future resulting damages, by Source Gas. The Board then voted on the issue, and Source Gas needs to present to the Board a contract before construction can begin. “If they start before, they do not have approval and they are trespassing,” said one board member.

“We want gas,” said one resident, “but we have the best neighborhood in the County, and this is how we keep it that way. You just don’t come in here, de-mand, and do what you want.”

Construction is set to begin on the main gas line, at zero cost to the home-owners or its board, pending presen-tation and approval of the requested contract. It is not known if any other neighborhood requested a similar re-sponsibility from the company.

Sleepy Hollow will soon have Gas option

Community

2

Art GalaPublic Schools from around the County show their work at the Art Gala. There were displays and artists creating pieces in front of every one’s eyes. Making clay pots, Kelsey Valk, chalking pastel was teacher Paul Waldum, along with other ex-amples. ¼ of the best work in the County was accepted, and select pieces from each school will have the honor go in the Mayor’s office for his private collection.

Community

3

Crawfi sh boil another success

By Sandra Boehler

An estimated 4,300 people turned out for the 28th Annual Crawfi sh Boil was held Friday April 29, 2011 at Camplex Energy Hall. The event, one of Gillette’s largest, was once again a huge success and involved 13,000 pounds of crawfi sh being shipped in from Breaux Bridge, Louisiana with proceeds from the event donated to Gillette residents who are facing medical hardships.

Lunch, served from 11:00 AM until 1:00 PM. saw many people choosing to do the early feed to avoid the massive crowd of evening diners. After lunch workers took a few hours to clean up, relax and start to prepare for the huge evening feed which starts at 4:00 PM and continues until all crawfi sh are served. People begin arriving around 3:00 PM to avoid standing in long lines. Mother Nature made the wait a little un-comfortable with dreary skies and cool temperatures, but didn’t seem to damp-en the spirits of those craving “The Bug” they have waited an entire year to sa-vor. Bratwurst and hot dogs were also available. T-shirts sporting “The Bug” logo and a catchy phrase were on sale and musical entertainment was provid-ed by the band Tom and the Boys.

Several volunteers work throughout the year to prepare for this event includ-ing Shawn Hight and Dave Dorson who are among the many, who have been making this event a success for the past 28 years.

Jim Shadwick enjoys his “Bug” puppets

Willie Nelson concert

re-scheduledCAM-PLEX announced this morning

that the Willie Nelson concert, originally scheduled for April 20th, has been re-scheduled for Friday, September 23rd.

If you are currently holding tickets from the April 20th show, those tickets will be honored at the September 23rd performance. Tickets which have been returned will be back on sale Monday, May 2nd at 8 a.m.

Concert Refund Policy - Tickets for the rescheduled concert may be turned in for a refund until Friday, May 27, 2011. Ticket offi ce hours are Monday through Friday, from 11:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Butler Spaeth Road to be closed

through May 13The City of Gillette’s Utilities Depart-

ment announced this morning that But-ler Spaeth Road from the north side of Boxelder Road to 12th Street will be closed to through traffi c from Monday, May 2nd through Friday, May 13th.

Local access to Hillcrest Elementary School and Chara Hills will be main-tained.

Boxelder Road both east and west bound will be reduced to one lane of traffi c and traffi c will be diverted into the two most southern lanes. Butler Spaeth south of Boxelder will operate normally up to the Boxelder intersection.

This closure is to replace two water valves as part of the Madison Pipeline Rehabilitation Project.

Please travel accordingly.For more information contact Public

Information Offi cer Joe Lunne at (307) 686-5393.

With fl ooding in Wyoming possible during the coming months, the Wyo-ming Department of Health is asking residents and volunteers to be mindful of potential fl ood-related health con-cerns.

Dr. Tracy Murphy, acting state health offi cer and state epidemiologist with the Wyoming Department of Health, said during and after a fl ood, water can be-come contaminated.

“Unfortunately, contaminated water, even a small amount, can sometimes cause illness,” Murphy said. “We’re asking residents in fl ood prone areas to plan ahead. If fl ooding does occur, af-fected people should be cautious and pay attention to specifi c announce-ments from local and state health au-thorities.”

Murphy offered the following informa-tion:

Safe Drinking Water • Residents who receive water from a

city or other public water supply source should watch and listen for public an-nouncements about water safety and follow the specifi c advice offered.

• Flooded private water wells can sometimes make the water drawn from that well unsafe. People who receive water from a fl ooded private well should not drink the water or use it to wash dishes, brush teeth, wash and prepare food, make ice, make baby formula or otherwise use for human consumption without taking precautions.

• Safe water includes bottled water or water boiled for at least 3 minutes. Flooded, private water wells need to be tested and disinfected after fl ood waters recede.

Flood WatersAlthough skin contact with fl ood wa-

ter usually does not, by itself, pose a serious health risk, there is some risk of disease from eating or drinking any-thing contaminated with fl ood water. Do not eat food that may have come into contact with fl ood water. Wash hands with soap and water that has not been contaminated, or has been boiled or otherwise disinfected or use an alcohol-based hand sanitizer before preparing or eating food, after toilet use, after par-ticipating in fl ood cleanup activities, and

after handling articles contaminated with fl ood water or sewage.

Keep open cuts or sores exposed to fl ood water clean by washing well with soap and safe water. If a wound devel-ops redness, swelling or drainage, see a medical professional.

Tetanus Tetanus bacteria enter the body

through cuts or wounds and can cause serious disease. Workers, volunteers and residents involved in fl ood opera-tions or clean-up efforts may be at in-creased risk for injury and should con-sider whether they are up-to-date on their tetanus immunizations. Routine boosters are recommended for adults every 10 years; possibly sooner for in-jured persons.

ChildrenParents should help children avoid

waterborne illness. Do not allow chil-dren to play in fl ood water areas, wash children’s hands frequently (always be-fore meals), and do not allow children to play with fl ood-water contaminated toys that have not been disinfected. Disinfect toys using a solution of 1 cup of bleach in 5 gallons of water.

IllnessPeople who become ill after drink-

ing contaminated water or contact with fl ood water should consult a medi-cal professional. Symptoms of illness from drinking unsafe water include up-set stomach, vomiting, diarrhea, fever, cramps and headaches. Children (es-pecially infants), the elderly and those with existing health conditions or se-verely compromised immune systems are at greater risk of severe illness.

Prepare for Possible Flood-Related Health Concerns

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Community

4

Effective July 1, 2011 Wyoming will be-come the fourth state to allow residents to carry concealed weapons (CCW) without obtaining a permit. Currently, three other states also allow unrestricted CCW; Ver-mont, Alaska and Arizona. Unrestricted CCW laws allow residents to carry a con-cealed fi rearm without getting a permit, without paying a fee, and without going through a waiting period.

After July 1, 2011 any law abiding resi-dent of Wyoming is allowed to concealed carry. By law, that means individuals who have been a resident of Wyoming for at least six months, are at least 21 years of age, are legally competent and are not ineligible to possess and carry a fi rearm. Examples of those ineligible to CCW would include; felons, misdemeanor sub-stance abuse offenders within one year, anyone committed to a treatment facility for substance abuse for at least one year, chronic and habitual users of alcohol and anyone that has been committed to a men-tal institution. In addition, Non-Wyoming residents will still be required to obtain a concealed carry permit.

The state of Wyoming will continue to issue concealed carry permits to resi-dents for reciprocity reasons. Wyoming residents who obtain CCW permits would then be allowed to carry in the states that recognize Wyoming’s permit.

Initially unrestricted CCW laws sound to be easily interpreted. However, such a law does not mean that an individual can CCW everywhere they choose. It is im-portant for those planning on carrying to understand that this law does have clear boundaries. Residents may not CCW in certain locations and doing so will result in criminal charges. Individuals may not CCW in the following areas:

• Federal buildings, this includes US Post Offi ces.

• County Court Houses• Any location where government or

elected offi cials hold meetings. Examples include; City Council Chambers and State Legislature.

• School grounds. This includes all schools, from K-12 through college.

• Any location in which a school spon-sored event is taking place.

• Any location operated by the Wyoming Department of Corrections including.

• Any bar or area of a restaurant that dispenses alcohol or malt beverages. For example, if you are dining at a restaurant

and bar establishment, you may CCW in the restaurant area, but not in the bar area where the alcohol is being dispensed. CCW is permitted in restaurants that serve alcohol, but do not have a public dispens-ing area or bar. CCW is also allowed in package liquor stores. This does not in-clude package liquor stores.

In addition, there are locations in which an individual needs to get permission prior to CCW in order to be lawful. Private prop-erty owners and businesses both have the power to deny CCW on their property. Churches, the Police Department and Sheriff’s Department all require that an individual fi rst obtain permission from the head of the agency prior to carrying on their premises.

CCW law violations will result in a mis-demeanor for fi rst time offenders. A mis-demeanor weapons offense is punishable by a fi ne of up to $750 and/or imprison-ment in jail for not more than six day. A second or subsequent offense of CCW laws will result in a felony charge, with up to a $2000 fi ne and/or imprisonment of not more than two years.

The Second Amendment guarantees that “the right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed.” How the states interpret that right has been a hot button political issue for decades. Regula-tions relating to the issuance of CCW per-mits fall into four categories; Unrestricted, Shall Issue, May issue and No Issue. A Shall Issue state is one that allows their residents to CCW by permit if that resident meets the permitting criteria. May Issue states leave the issuance of CCW permits partially up to the discretion of local city or county authorities. In May Issue states this typically results in a wide variance in the actual issuance of CCW permits from No Issue to Shall Issue depending on the county or city a resident lives in. No Issue states do not allow residents to CCW and therefore do not have CCW permits.

The history of modern concealed carry started in Georgia in 1976 with that state’s Governor, Zell Miller. Miller introduced what became the model for later con-cealed carry laws and as a result Georgia joined a handful of other states that al-lowed citizens to CCW with a permit at that time. In 1976 Vermont was the only state that allowed unrestricted CCW. Then in 1980 a trend started when Indiana passed a Shall Issue law, but in order to force con-formity the Indiana Sportsmen’s Council,

assisted by the NRA-ILA, sued the state police, other agencies and elected offi cials into compliance. With the trend quietly started, Maine and North Dakota passed Shall Issue laws in 1985 and South Da-kota followed in 1986. However, it wasn’t until the of media storm in 1987 about Florida’s new CCW legislation that loosen-ing of CCW laws was brought to a level of national attention. The media attention and dire predictions about lawlessness as a result of relaxing gun control brought CCW legislation to the forefront. The law-lessness in Florida never materialized and CCW bills began sweeping through the country as states began to ease gun control laws. Wyoming joined the move-ment when it became a Shall Issue state in 1994.

As a result in most states the pendulum on right to carry laws has swung dramati-cally back in favor of individual freedoms in the last decade from the restrictive gun control laws of the early 1980’s. In 1986 there were 15 states with No Issue laws. At that time, Wyoming was one of the 26 May Issue states. In 1986 Vermont re-mained as the lone state that allowed un-restricted CCW.

In 2011, only Illinois and Wisconsin have retained their No Issue status. This is de-spite repeated attempts to pass bills aimed at allowing CCW. Shall Issue states are currently up from 8 states in 1986 to 36 now. Alaska made one of the most no-table turnarounds in its gun control laws. In 1986 Alaska was a No Issue state and in 2003 it became the second unrestricted CCW state in the nation. Arizona became the third state to adopt an unrestricted CCW law in 2010.

Today, Wyoming’s newly passed CCW law is part of a growing trend of unre-stricted CCW laws. Currently Utah, South Carolina and New Hampshire are among states discussing bills with Vermont style CCW laws. However, just as in the 1980’s when the trend began to shift from May Is-sue status to the current Shall Issue sta-tus, the unrestricted CCW bills are facing an uphill battle.

The argument against the current un-restricted CCW laws is rooted in the idea that an increase in guns coincides with an increase in crime and weapons assaults. Opponents of unrestricted CCW cite law enforcement groups’ strong opposition to such laws and state that passing un-restricted CCW is putting public safety at

risk. The fear is that this bill will enable potentially dangerous and unstable people to CCW.

During the debate on Wyoming’s CCW bill Mike Burnett of the Wyoming Frater-nal Order of Police spoke in opposition to the bill and was quoted by the Casper Star Tribune on February 27 during a House Panel debate as stating, “It’s not an issue of gun control, it’s not a matter of infring-ing on constitutional rights; it’s a matter of public safety.” Burnett went on to say that passage of this bill would put a burden on law enforcement while in the fi eld, as they have to make instant decisions about sus-pects and this law will force them to also try to determine whether a person should be carrying a gun at all.

Gun rights advocates argue that the Sec-ond Amendment is a right and not a privi-lege and therefore, law abiding citizens should not have to obtain a permit from the government. To counter the public safety worries of the opposition advocates refer to statistics that appear to demonstrate that loosening gun control laws does not put the public at risk. One of the primary examples that advocates point to is Ver-mont. It has had an unrestricted CCW law for over forty years and yet consistently boasts one of the lowest, if not the lowest crime rates in the nation.

El Paso, TX is the other prime example that advocates use to counter the pub-lic safety argument. As a pro-gun state, Texas has made it easy to CCW. Even so, El Paso was ranked by CQ Press as America’s safest city in 2010. More strik-ing though is its neighboring city’s record. El Paso is located directly across the bor-der from Ciudad Juarez, Mexico. Ciudad Juarez has very stringent gun control laws and one of the highest murder rates in the world.

CCW laws seem to be just the begin-ning in this revolution of gun control laws. Currently states are debating and passing, Stand Your Ground Laws, bills that allow fi rearms on college campuses, bills that al-low judges to bear arms and bills that say an employer cannot keep a worker from bringing a fi rearm to work if he leaves it in a vehicle. As a result the landscape of gun control is dramatically changing as the push for a return to constitutional rights with minimal government interference spreads across the nation.

An In Depth Look at Wyoming’s CCW LawBy Lin Stephens

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Gillette Council decides against extra gun control

By Sara Painter

May 2, 2011, was the Gillette Coun-cil’s fi rst reading of the ordinance to amend the City Code concerning fi re-arms. City Administrator Carter Napier said this is Gillette’s opportunity to bring the City Code into compliance with the Wyoming State Statutes. Effective July 1, a permit will no longer be required for eligible citizens to carry weapons in a concealed fashion.

Councilman John Opseth immediately made a motion to amend the ordinance to completely delete Section 2, Page 3, Paragraph E, which read, “Unless specifi cally permitted by established policies, rules or regulations of the gov-erning body, having responsibility for a facility, no person other than a Wyoming peace offi cer, may possess a fi rearm or other deadly weapon within a govern-mental facility or building.” The motion carried unanimously.

Returning to the amendment itself, four citizens spoke. Dennis Christensen said that it would interfere with a pattern of consistency. Chris Smith said it was against our Constitutional Rights.

Nick De Laat spoke of a story about how a local banker felt safer when her patrons carry into the bank. “They are not going to rob their own money, but they will protect against the people who

will.” He compared this to the public buildings, stating that “Signs will not stop a lunatic wanting to come in here and cause harm, but good armed citi-zens will.”

Anthony Bouchard, President of the Wyoming Gun Owners Association, came up from Cheyenne to take a per-sonal interest. “We did a lot of work at the State level, and I know the constitu-ents don’t want this.” He went on to say that if the City of Gillette passes such an ordinance that the Wyoming Gun Owners are prepared to bring lawsuit. “The Wyoming Legislatures affi rms this Constitutional Right in every part of Wy-oming.”

All citizen-speakers were in favor of the constitutional right to bear arms, and asked that the City mirror the State laws on restrictions, without compli-cating the matter by adding to the re-stricted areas, and thanked Councilman Opseth for his motion. The council and Mayor as a hole were commended on the unanimous decision, and all in at-tendance were satisfi ed with the results of the meeting. There are however 2 more readings where changes can be made. The next one is scheduled for May 16th at City Hall.

Even Start Family Literacy is having its annual Fund Raiser on Saturday, May 7, starting at 9 a.m. with registra-tion at 8:30. It will be held at the Lake-way Learning Center at 525 West Lake-way. Walkers get pledges from family/friends by either dollars per mile walked or a simple donation. The routes in-clude a 3-mile and a 6-mile walk. Pledge Forms may be obtained from calling (682-1314) or from the Camp-bell County School District website: http://www.campbellcountyschools.

net/f i les/571150/footsteppers%20pledge%20form%202011.pdf

The Federal Government has elimi-nated the Program from its budget so this fund raiser is more critical than ever. For more information, call Helen Mathes at 689-1052.

The event is put on by the Energy Ro-tary Club, and is sponsored by: Prime Rib, First National Bank, Gillette Col-lege, M&K Oil Company, News Record, Universal Athletics, Whites Frontier Mo-tors, and Acorn Pediatrics.

Fundraiser for Even Start Family Literacy

We want to get it Write. Oops we mean Right.

The Observer strives to make news reports fair and accurate. If you have a question or

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

Community

5

Governor Mead visits Brothers Coffee

By Sara Painter

During Governor Matt Mead’s visit at Brothers Coffee in Gillette this April, he gave a short speech and then took questions from the audience. This in-formation is extracted from his speech and his responses to questions.

Guantanamo BayHe is against shutting down Guanta-

namo Bay. He observed that the Wyo-ming Troops are doing a tremendous job at that location. Terrorist detainees from Afghanistan are held there, during a time when they are either going to be charged or intelligence is going to be gained from them. The internet photos showing 3 sided huts and dirt ground portrayed what was a temporary situa-tion.

These prisoners are in facilities that equal facilities we have in the United States. They have food access 24 hours a day. They have medical, they have dental, their life expectancy is in-creased by 20 years. If they are on sui-cide watch they are physically watched within an arms length 24 hours a day. They are being treated very well.

Guantanamo Bay is important be-cause it is a big part in our war on ter-rorism. Too often we forget we are in a war, we are still fighting terrorists, and Guantanamo Bay is a big part of that. So help spread that message. We are doing a good job in Guantanamo Bay, and it should not be shut down.

CoalGovernor Mead thinks coal has a

great future, but we cannot be lax in just saying that. We have to continue every day to defend against what the federal government does, and against what the environmental groups do, to try to stop coal development in this country. He says the fact of the matter is, coal isn’t just good for Campbell County, it is good for Wyoming and the country. This country needs our energy now more than ever.

Health Care LitigationSoon after Governor Mead took office

and Wyoming joined the national law-suit, a Florida Federal court ruled that the federal mandate was unconstitution-al. It will now go to the Supreme Court, but we don’t know when. He feels it is a State’s rights issue and that the States have a strong case. He is hopeful that the states will prevail in the case. In the meantime the state does have obliga-tions regarding the Affordable Care Act, and it is tough to say what we will in the future, not knowing what’s down the road, but so far so good on the litigation.

AppointeesOne of the great opportunities and

great challenges is the people the Governor gets to appoint through awards and commissions. There are

geographical considerations (such as within a certain district and within a cer-tain county in that district) as well as the need to include Republicans and Democrats to those appointments. On what was a lighter note for the Republi-can audience, he did say that for some awards and commissions they were try-ing to find a Democrat to fill the slot and were unable to find one.

State run Medicare and MedicaidRather than the Federal Government

providing x amount of money to the state and the state working to administer the design of the federal government’s pro-gram , the government should just pro-vide a block grant for the state to decide how to use. Even if we did it exactly the way it is done now, if the state runs the program, taking out the administrative costs and the bureaucracy, we could provide more services for more people for the same amount of money.

Long-Term Care Facilities The state has a number of roles re-

garding long-term care facilities. Wyo-ming has an aging population; in fact Wyoming’s rate of aging is beyond any other state. We need these facilities and we need them to do well. We need to come up with ways to offset the fi-nancial losses incurred by long-term facilities. One of the things we are look-ing at is tele-health, rather than trans-porting individuals physically to distant facilities.

Early Childhood DevelopmentWhat we know is that how well chil-

dren are doing when they reach kinder-garten has a bearing on howwell they do throughout. The state is currently working with the University of Wyoming, both through the state and federal edu-cation program, we are looking at early childhood development on somewhat of a small scale to see if there are things the state can do to support what is be-ing done now to help those families that are struggling somewhat, to see if those kids can be better prepared by kinder-garten.

The concept is a good idea, but we need to be somewhat careful how we approach that.

We don’t want to, as a government, start taking over the role of the parents in those early childhood years before kindergarten. At the same time, if we can support the parenting, and support the education role, and get those kids better prepared, that is to everyone’s benefit. Governor Mead added that Campbell County has a higher aver-age graduation rate than the state as a whole.

In closing, Governor Mead thanked everyone for attending and said it was nice to see everyone again.

The City of Gillette’s Engineering and Utilities Department announces road closure updates on construction proj-ects.

Enzi Drive Widening: Enzi Drive approximately 400’ south of West 4J Road through approximately 500’ south of Shoshone Avenue will be restricted, and the speed will be limited, from Monday, April 25th through June 30th. Traffic control will be set up to accom-modate 12’ lanes and the speed limit will be reduced to 20 MPH. Watch for trucks, construction equipment, as well as workers and flaggers. Trucks and trailers are encouraged to use an alter-native route. This project is funded by the Optional 1% Sales Tax.

3rd Street: East 3rd Street between Gillette Avenue and the alley to the west of Gillette Avenue will be closed to through traffic while crews use a crane to install HVAC equipment on the 1st In-terstate Bank building.

1st Street: The intersection of 1st Street and Rohan Avenue will be closed from Wednesday, April 27th through Wednesday, May 11th, but all business access will be maintained. This work is for the city’s Stonepile Interceptor

Phase IIB project which is funded in part by the Optional 1% Sales Tax.

Stanley Avenue: Stanley Avenue from 4th Street to 5th Street will be closed from Monday, May 2nd through Monday, May 16th. The intersection of 4th Street and Stanley Avenue will be closed. The intersection of 5th Street and Stanley Avenue will remain open to traffic. The closure is for the 2010 Water Main Replacement Project and is funded by the Optional 1% Sales Tax.

Wilson Way: 4509 Wilson Way to Doud Drive will be closed from Monday, May 2nd through Friday, June 3rd. This closure is for the Pavement Manage-ment Schedule - 2010 B project and is funded by the Optional 1% Sales Tax.

Lakeland Hills Drive/Astoria Av-enue intersection: The intersection of Lakeland Hills Drive and Astoria Av-enue will be closed on Tuesday, May 3rd while crews tie in a water line for the Lakeland Hills community park. Water will be shut off at 617, 618, 619, 622, 624, 626, 628 Lakeland Hills Drive from 9 a.m. and ending at or before 5:00 p.m. on Monday 3rd. No driveways will be blocked and the intersection will re-open at the end of the day.

City of Gillette announces road closure updates

Channel 22 is Gillette’s Public Ac-cess television, which broadcasts some Campbell County board meetings live, in addition to providing the recorded programs at later times in case you missed the first showing. It also dis-plays other information such as board meeting schedules, board meeting minutes, and board vacancies. It also displays short messages reminding city residents of State laws and some of the City Code ordinances that the public may need reminders on.

For example, messages on Channel 22 remind the public that:

“State law prohibits people from post-ing signs on Wyoming Department of Transportation (WYDOT) traffic signal poles, or in the highway right-of way. Signs mounted on utility poles, traffic signs or highway markers, on the shoul-

der of the road, or anywhere inside the highway right-of-way, announcing garage/yard sales, house for sale, or giving directions, are illegal and cause safety problems. Fines and jail time can be inflicted on those who don’t comply with the law.”

“City Code says signs and adver-tisements may not be posted on utility poles/boxes, street signs, street lights, public right-of-way areas, or any other public land, highways, or roads, with-out first obtaining permission of the City Council. Penalties for violating City Code could include a fine up to $750. This applies to advertisements such as garage/yard sales, help wanted, lost pets, for sale, political campaign signs, and real estate signs.”

“If you have any questions, call the Code Compliance Office at 686-5309.”

Local Public Access

The City of Gillette’s Water Division announced that the existing Madison Pipeline is back online after a six-month rehabilitation project. Mayor Murphy & the City Council would like to thank the public for their conservation efforts dur-ing the project.

After a six-month closure for rehabili-tation, the existing Madison Pipeline is back online and providing Gillette cus-tomers with water from the Madison aquifer. The 30-year-old pipeline was shut down on Nov. 1, 2010 to perform repairs and maintenance to extend the life of the pipeline at least another thirty years.

Remember: the Madison aquifer wa-ter is harder water than our in-town (Ft. Union aquifer) wells - so if you haven’t been using your water softener the last six months - might be time to start. This would also be a good time to flush your water heater - please follow the manu-facturer’s instructions when doing so.

The return of the Madison Pipeline also means fluoride levels will return to normal over the course of the next two weeks.

While the pipeline is back online, the project isn’t totally complete:

There will be some work at the Butler Spaeth/Boxelder intersection next week

that will close north/south traffic on But-ler Spaeth at the Boxelder intersection. Boxelder Road will open to through traffic, but traffic will be restricted. This closure will allow for the replacement of some faulty valves that were discov-ered after the rehab work at this inter-section last fall. (another press release is forthcoming on this closure)

Also, on May 9th and 16th, the Water Division will be performing their spring flushing program by flushing out the water lines. The City of Gillette will post announcements about that as we get closer to those dates.

Again, many thanks to the community for your conservation efforts the past six months!

And kudos to Utilities Director Kend-all Glover, Water Services Manager Di-ane Monahan, Utilities Project Manager Mike Cole, Utilities Project Manager Steve Peterson, the Water Division and the entire Utilities Department for their diligent efforts to keep the water run-ning the past six months!

Your water division is: Bryan Hender-shot, Burl Coleman, Curtis Lehman, Dave Galles, Greg Bowman, Howard Jones, Matthew Jacobs, Mike Garner, Mike Jundt, Randy Wilson, Scott Green, Scott Sorenson, and Tim Gales.

Madison Pipeline back online after six-month rehab project

Special Election Results:Capital Facilities Tax PassesThe voters of Campbell County have

overwhelmingly passed the Capital Fa-cilities Tax: 83% in favor, 17% opposed. The one percent additional sales tax will go into effect October 1, 2011, and will end once the $110 Million has been raised for the project. City officials es-timate it will take approximately four years to raise the $110 Million for the tax to end.

Mayor Tom Murphy stated, “I’d like to thank the voters of Campbell County and all those who worked hard on the Vote Yes for Water PAC, led by co-chairs Nick Kasperik and Sherry Mc-Grath. Those folks did a phenomenal

job, as did our State Legislators, who worked hard in Cheyenne this past win-ter to make sure this happens. Now that the tax has passed, it’s worth not-ing that it will be another five years be-fore the second Madison Pipeline will be complete. There’s still much work to do.”

Total Registered Voters - 13,124Total Ballots Cast - 4,279 (32.6% voter turnout)Votes in favor - 3,554 (83%)Votes against - 721 (17%)For more information contact Public

Information Officer Joe Lunne at (307) 686-5393.

Question of the Week

Who do you think will run for President on the Republican Ticket?

“Sarah Palin 4 President. With her vast political knowledge andexperience its sure to be a winning year for the rebulican party.”

- Aaron Morlock

“Ron Paul”- Swede

“I think a lot of people will run. But I would much rather see Ron Paul get the nomination. Palin has a deeply flawed philosphy. Paul seems like my

generations Barry Goldwater, hopefully without the same results.”- Edward John

“I think the Republicans best bet to beat the President is

Condoleezza Rice. If you can get her to run.”- Rita Smithe

6

Community

Website offerswealth of information

By Sara Painter

You might recognize some of these names: John Adams, Alexander Ham-ilton, Thomas Jefferson. These men all believed that the function of a jury was to determine not only the guilt or innocence of the accused, but to try the law itself (that the accused was being charged with breaking) to ensure that it was a just law.

Some state constitutions include the language that the jury can determine the law, according to information post-ed at famguardian.org. This particular website has a wealth of information on topics both legal and spiritual, and might be considered an extremely right-wing organization. However, even the ACLU (sometimes considered a left-wing or-ganization by right-wing people) sup-ports the concept of jury nullifi cation.

Applying this sometimes controver-sial concept is believed to have been a reason why prohibition was eventually overturned. In a hypothetical situation, simply put, it works like this: If a man is facing charges for not having health insurance, when the law requires him to have health insurance, the jury can fi nd him innocent, even though he doesn’t

have health insurance, if they feel the law requiring him to have health insur-ance is unjust.

The Fully Informed Jury Association (FIJA) was formed in Helena, Montana, in 1989.

“Since the inception of the Fully In-formed Jury Association (FIJA) in 1989, the move to educate American citizens about their rights as jurors and to rein-state jury nullifi cation to its former le-gally recognized status has swept the nation.” The only two states that don’t have a state-level organization are South Dakota and Vermont. “ FIJA Na-tional and the states provide a nation-wide network of activists and scholars to educate the public of the power in-herent in the jury’s ability to serve as the community check on bad laws through the use of jury nullifi cation.”

It is an interesting time in the United States. Offi cials of the federal govern-ment have challenged a law in an indi-vidual state (Arizona Immigration Law), because they don’t approve of that law. As a member of a jury, each of us has the power to do the same.

With the goal of establishing Wyo-ming’s fi rst childhood cancer camp, the Wyoming Comprehensive Cancer Con-trol Consortium (WCCCC) is seeking recipes for a cookbook planned to help raise funds for the effort.

“A childhood cancer camp is over-due in Wyoming,” said Lisa Eades, founder of Jason’s Friends Foundation and WCCCC co-chairperson. “A camp would provide Wyoming children with cancer and their parents a place to have fun and to spend time with other families in the same situation.”

“A number of WCCCC members have been working diligently toward making this long-awaited dream come true,” Eades continued. “Not surprisingly, one of the biggest challenges for the camp is start up funding.”

Wyoming residents are asked to sub-mit their favorite healthy recipes for a cookbook that will be sold to help sup-port the camp. “Along with the recipes, we’d like to collect stories about how cancer has affected folks, drawings and pictures of cancer survivors to make the book more meaningful,” said Jessica Perez, outreach coordinator with the Wyoming Department of Health’s can-cer control program.

The deadline to submit recipes is May 13. For a recipe entry form, contact Per-ez at 307-777-7362 [email protected], or visit www.fi ghtcan-cerwy.com online.

Instructions for recipe submissions• Type or print clearly in ink• One recipe per form• If more room is needed, use another

sheet of the same size paper and staple together

• List all ingredients in order of use in ingredient list and directions

• Do not use abbreviations; please write out all measurements

• Include container sizes, for example 16-ounce package, 24-ounce can

• Keep directions in paragraph form, not in steps

• Use names of ingredients in the di-rections such as “Combine fl our and sugar” rather than statements such as “Combine the fi rst three ingredients”

• Include temperatures for cooking, chilling, baking and or freezing times

WCCCC childhood cancer and qual-ity of life workgroups will have fi nal ap-proval of all recipes and stories. Each cookbook will be professionally typeset and printed.

Cookbook planned to support future Childhood Cancer Camp

Governor Matt Mead signed his fi rst executive order today. That order cleared 197 executive orders from the books. The earliest of those is from 1969.

The Governor’s Executive Order 2011-1 indicates that executive orders by former governors have created a sig-nifi cant volume of orders over time, but many of them are no longer relevant or needed. The order explains four sepa-rate reasons for rescinding the older orders:

1) They have been rescinded or su-perseded by more current orders or by statute.

2) They contain specifi c sunset dates which have since passed.

3) They have exceeded the specifi c time period for which the orders were in authorized.

4) They have been supplanted by the adoption of other policy

Governor Mead also wrote that by getting those orders off of the books it improves the effi ciency of state govern-ment - a priority for his administration.

“This was no easy task and it required a signifi cant amount of work by my staff and the staff of the Attorney General,” Governor Mead said. “But, now we have cleared these off the books to make the record of executive orders more rel-evant and up-to-date.” This is the fi rst Executive Order Governor Mead has signed.

Governor Mead signs fi rst executive order

April 25, 2011- At 5:11 PM to the 1900 block of S.

Emerson for an EMS assist. - At 9:31 PM to the 6600 block of

Stone Place Ave. for a citizen assist. A bird had built a nest in a recessed light approximately 30’ above the porch and started a small fi re. Crews laddered the building and removed the nest and checked for fi re extension. The home-owner had the fi re out prior to calling for assistance.

- At 10:16 PM to the 700 block of W. 6th St. for an EMS assist.

April 26, 2011- At 7:13 a.m. to 900 South Butler

Spaeth Road for a gas smell in the building. CCFD responded to the scene and checked the air in the build-ing for the presence of natural gas (NG). No NG was found and CCFD determined the source of the smell to be rotten garbage in a trash can.

- At 7:22 a.m. to Beaver Drive for and EMS assist.

At 8:17 a.m. to 31 North Sage Hill Road for a sparking electrical trans-former. CCFD cancelled en route when it was determined no fi re hazards existed on scene.

- At 11:39 a.m. to 1502 Harvest Moon Drive for an automatic fi re alarm. CCFD cancelled when Gillette Police Department (GPD) offi cers arrived on scene and were advised by the home-owner that the alarm was false and no emergency existed.

- At 12:23 p.m. to 1900 West Warlow Drive, Suite A, for a smoke/electrical smell in the building. CCFD responded to the scene and determined the smell was caused by a malfunctioning furnance.

- At 6:11 p.m. to 912 West 8th Street for an automatic fi re alarm activation. Upon arrival CCFD determined the alarm was caused by burnt food.

April 27, 2011- At 5:42 PM to the 1600 block of

Pathfi nder Circle for an EMS assist. - At 7:54 PM to the 3200 block of

Oakcrest Dr. to assist PD with an animal rescue. A golden retriever had entered the storm drain system and was unable to get out. We entered a manhole and found the dog about 10’ below grade and were able to lift the dog out and return it to its owner.

April 28, 2011- At 12:09 p.m. to South Douglas

HWY near Burger King for a motorcy-cle vs. truck collision. CCFD respond-ed to the scene and determined no one was injured in the collision and no hazardous materials were involved.

- At 2:34 p.m. to Warlow Drive in the area of Lakeland Hills Subdivision for a single vehicle rollover. CCFD responded to the scene and upon ar-rival extricated the driver of the vehicle. The driver was transported with injuries to CCMH-ER.

- At 4:35 p.m. to 500 East Longmont Street, Lot 2, for a structure fi re. CCFD responded to the scene and upon arrival discovered that food wrapped in foil was cooked in the microwave causing a small fi re inside. The fi re was out on arrival and was contained to the microwave. The microwave and house were undamaged in the incident.

- At 9:20 p.m. to 501 South Burma Avenue for an automatic fi re alarm. CCFD responded to the scene and upon arrival determined the alarm was caused by fi re sprinkler system water fl ow. Upon further investigation it was discovered that air pressure was lost in a dry sprinkler system which resulted in the water fl ow. The water fl ow was shut off by CCFD and CCMH mainte-nance offi cials were made aware of the situation.00 block of EZ St. for an EMS assist.

April 29, 2011- At 9:20 AM to the 1100 block of

Vanscoy Drive for a medical assist.At 2:46 PM to 6603 Tassel Avenue to assist EMS with a motorist whose hand was pinned in a locked vehicle door. EMS freed the hand prior to Fire Department’s arrival.

- At 3:06 PM to the intersection of Boxelder Road and 4J Road for a vehicle vs bicycle accident with one injury.

- At 9:41 PM to 405 South Gillette Avenue for a fi re alarm. Burnt wiring in a battery charger set a smoke detec-tor into alarm. The smoke was cleared out of the building with ventilation fans. Damage was contained to the battery charger.

- At 10:44 PM to the 200 block of East Boxelder Road for a medical as-sist.

April 30, 2011- At 4:34 a.m. to the 1100 block of

South Gurley Avenue for a medical assist.

- At 10:23 a.m. to Reata Drive for an EMS assist.

- At 12:15 p.m. to Laramie Street for an EMS assist.

- At 3:54 p.m. to 204 South Warren Avenue, #5 for smoke in the residence. Upon arrival CCFD determined there was no fi re and that the smoke was caused by electrical arcing that oc-curred when the television cable came into contact with electric lines on the power pole next to the house. The scene was turned over to the City of Gillette Electrical Division to fi x the problem.

- At 4:06 p.m. to South Douglas HWY for and EMS assist.

- At 5:33 p.m. to the intersection of Sako Drive and Glock Avenue for a car the collided with a dumpster. The driver of the vehicle was transported with injuries to CCMH-ER.

- At 6:15 p.m. to 810 Overdale Drive for an automatic fi re alarm activa-tion. Upon arrival to the scene CCFD was informed by the homeowner that everything was o.k. and the alarm was caused by burnt food.

May 2, 2011 - At 6:56 AM to the Edwards Rd. for

a semi rollover with injuries.- At 7:02 AM to Highway 50 mile

marker 35 for a 2 vehicle accident without injuries.

- At 4:09 PM to South Highway 59 near the Shell station for a 1 vehicle accident without injury.

- At 5:14 PM to the 3100 block of Foothills Blvd. for an EMS assist.

Campbell County Fire Department

One of the biggest decisions we have ever made.When my husband and I moved to Campbell County, we were nervous. We

were struggling to survive where we were living and wanted to better our-selves. We didn’t belong to any community, there were no jobs, the schools were terrible, and the local governments a mess. We arrived at the bus depot in Gillette on a Thursday night in October years ago with many questions. We didn’t know anyone, didn’t have a car, didn’t have a job, and didn’t have a place to live. We only had the eight bags we had brought, our (then) three year old son, and alot of unanswered questions about our future.

Years later, we have a beautiful house, two more children, a savings account for their college, and the security that I have always wished for. We are in love with the State of Wyoming, and plan on laying our bones in Campbell County. Our children attend some of the best schools in the country, and we live in a place we can proudly call home. Are we giving all that up?

Last week my husband and I made another big decision. Nick put in his two weeks notice at his job. He has always been a hard worker; working military (when he served), traveling, labor, factory, and mine jobs, but starting up this newspaper and working full time was just too much. No more retirement, vacation, income, security, medical, dental, profi t sharing, etc. We are going at it. Three children and a mortgage and we decide that he should quit and put everything into our new business. Many have called us crazy, and some people have called our decision outright stupid. I believe, however, that if you don’t take a big risk you will never achieve greatness.

Everyone’s greatness is different. Ours is simple, for we don’t want millions. We want to achieve the building of a business together, keep food on our kids plates, and pay our mortgage. We want a BBQ a couple times a year, and to take a long camping/fi shing trip once and a while. Most of all, we want to be a new pillar to our great community. We want our newspaper to be something that the whole of the County can be involved in and proud of. We have now taken the biggest chance in our lives, and with your help we will work very hard to bring you the community newspaper that you want.

Candice De LaatOwner / Publisher

From the Publisher

County approves carnival permitNorthstar Amusements and Post 42 American Legion Baseball

requested a carnival permit for a carnival to be held June 6 through June 13 at the Campbell County Aquatic Center. The permit was unanimously approved.

If you enjoyed the carnival at the Campbell County Fair last fall, you will not want to miss this.

7

Business

Ariane Jimison’s studioBy Tracey Mathews

There are few places you will learn more about art than at the simple stu-dio of Ariane Jimison and what you will learn may change your life. Working in a 10x10 space inside her home in Fox Park that she shares with her partner Rachel Kalenberg, Jimison also teach-es at Gillette College and both she and Kalenberg are advocates for arts in our community.

Growing up in eastern rural Montana, there were no art classes available at the two person classroom where Ji-mison began her education or in the slightly larger classrooms that followed. As a child she remembers the frustra-tion of modeling clay and that it never hardened

“I thought I hated clay,” she said.As she grew, the paint by numbers

from the local discount stores served to feed her desire to learn art then at 16 she moved to Gillette with her family and for the first time was able to enroll in an art class. The opportunity to learn art altered the trajectory of her life, she states.

After entering high school in Gillette, she was able to get into art classes with two teachers who encouraged her

to stay in school and get her diploma. Jimison also did ceramics classes with local artist John Werbelow and drawing classes with local artist Chris Amend.

“I always say ‘John taught me clay and Chris taught me art.” She explained.

“Art is a lifestyle that is very real. You have to be brave enough to endure the lifestyle. It is physically demanding, the pay is terrible, and you are at the mer-cy of the clay. The clay is the boss, it doesn’t wait for you. When it is ready to be trimmed I have to trim it or be ready to recycle that pot.”

“Pottery is like the circus,” she added.” No one realizes what goes on behind the scenes; they just come to see the dancing dogs and elephants. Not many stop to realize what it takes to care for and train those animals, or how many people it takes to put up the tent and then someone has to clean up after all that.”

“Only about 20% of what I do is the fun stuff, the creating. Most of my time is spent prepping and recycling the clay.”

An average day starts with lots of cof-fee while checking her email and web-site at arianejimison.com; as she is the chief marketing representative for her

business. She goes into her studio to check the clay and what stage it is at; does it need to be trimmed? Or is it ready to be fired? The pottery needs to be fired twice. The first time can take the kiln up to 6 hours to reach peak temperature and up to 18 hours to cool. There is a second firing for the glaz-ing. “Opening the kiln is like Christmas morning; sometimes it’s an iPod and sometimes it is just socks.”

Written across the braces of her spe-cially designed stand for her potter’s wheel you will see Jimison’s humor cut into the metal, “Clay is a jealous lover, leave it for a day and it will leave you for two.” She smiles as she says “that is totally true.”

Jimison spends her time research-ing different venues where she can sell her art; she commissions pieces and is available for private lessons in her stu-dio.

In five years she hopes to expand her studio and at some point have an ap-prentice that she can share her knowl-

edge with and teach her philosophy of clay.

“Clay relates to everything. It is found in stages, it could be clay in the ground, untouched and full of potential. Clay could be made into brick, to build a foun-dation or a structure. It could be made into art or a toilet. It is the firing process that makes it strong, just like humans. We have to withstand the trials and the fire to come out stronger on the other side. If the work doesn’t make it that far it can just go back to being clay.”

Friday, May 6-Campbell County Centennial Display,

CCPL-SpringFest for John Paul II, 5 p.m. to

12 a.m. at Wyoming Center, Camplex-Gillette College Graduation, 7 to 8:15

p.m. at Heritage Center, Camplex-WQHA Horse Show, 7:30 a.m. to 8

p.m., East Pavilion, Camplex

Saturday, May 7-Teens, Artist of the Month, Mae Gill - 4th through 6th grade WiiPlay, 1 to 4

p.m. at CCPL-Teens Video Game open play, 1 to 4

p.m. at CCPL-NADAC Dog Trials Camping Form, 9

a.m., Barn 3, Camplex-WQHA Horse Show, 7:30 a.m. to 8

p.m., East Pavilion, Camplex-Gillette Childrens Show, 3 to 4:30

p.m., Energy Hall, Camplex

Sunday, May 8-WQHA Horse Show, 7:30 a.m. to

8.p.m, East Pavilion, Camplex-NADAC Dog Trials Camping Form, 9

a.m., Barn 3, Camplex

Monday, May 9-One on One Computer Classes at

CCPL-Book Discussion, Prayers for sale by

Sandra Dallas, from 5 to 7 p.m. at Write Public Library.

Tuesday, May 10 -Scholarship Night, 7 p.m., Camplex

Heritage Center-Campbell County Centenial Display,

Teen Yu Gi Oh Card Club, 4-6pm at CCPL

-RCM Spring Barrel Race, 7 p.m., East Pavilion, Camplex

Wednesday, May 11 - The Great Depression in Story and

Song, Bill Rossiter, 7 p.m. at CCPL

Thursday, May 12 -Teen Advisory Board Meeting, 4 p.m.

at CCPL-Teen Anime Club, 7 to 8:30 at CCPL-District Elementary Strings Concert,

7 p.m., Heritage Center, Camplex-Wyoming Junior High Rodeo, 1 to

6:30 p.m., Wrangler Arena, Camplex

Friday May 13 -Artist of the Month, Mae Gill at CCPL-NADAC Dog Drials, 9 a.m., Barn 3,

Camplex-Gillette High School Rodeo, 11 a.m.

to 6 p.m., MorningSide Park-Gillette High School Rodeo Dance,

Private event, Central Pavilion, Cam-plex

What’s Going On?The Campbell County Commission-

ers approved a name change on a li-quor license from “Savageton Bar” to “Cheryl’s Place.” Maxine Lieber, Depu-ty County Clerk, presented for approval of this item. Cheryl Niles wanted to do a name change on her liquor establish-ment, from Savageton Bar to Cheryl’s Place. The back story presented to the commissioners was that Cheryl had sold the place, then took it back, and just wanted a fresh start with a new name. It had already been cleared with the State, and no public hearing was needed due to the fact that it was just a name change of the establish-ment, but the liquor license is still in the name of Cheryl Niles. The motion was made and carried to approve the name change on the liquor license.

Health benefit changes for Campbell County Employees

Modifications were approved to the Campbell County Employee Medical Plan at the County Commissioners meeting on 4-19-201. Campbell Coun-ty Employees benefits were adjusted to be compliant with health care reform, and to ease administration and consis-tency between the plans.

The first six elements were required by the health care requirement:

• Elimination of the lifetime maximum.

• Increase of the limiting age of de-pendent children was increased to De-cember 31 of the year they turn 26.

• Elimination of the requirement that the dependent be full-time student.

• Elimination of the requirement that the dependent be unmarried.

• Elimination of the residency require-ment for stepchildren.

• Elimination of pre-existing waiting period for all members under the age of 19.

In addition to the required elements, there was an additional request that de-pendent eligibility requirements match the requirements for the dental and vi-sion insurance, and a request for the bridging of dependent student eligibility if they graduate in May of 2011, to July 1, 2011 when the federal law goes into effect. All modifications were approved by the County Commissioners.

Savageton Bar now Cheryl’s Place

“If you come and move to Wright, you come and move into

friendship.”- Jaden Haneley

Community

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8

Public Pulse

Pegituck North Carolina - A group of unemployed yet hopeful workers who agree with Democrat’s claim that “Trick-le Down economics has failed” began asking for jobs from local homeless and poor people. “We don’t need no stinking rich people,” said one Democrat. “What have they ever done for the country? What do they do with all that money anyway? Tax the rich 100% I say.”

About that time the group came across one homeless man who claimed to have enough to pay every person in the group a salary plus benefi ts, as well as claiming ownership of a fl eet of UFO’s and magic mind powers, offered the desperate job seekers work.

“I can’t tell you how happy I am to be employed again!” said one formerly jobless Pegituck man. The conserva-tives have had it wrong all this time, and this is proof. According to my new boss I will now be making a gazillion dollars a month. I can’t even imagine that amount. Can you? Think of it, the economy will soon be saved because of trickle up economics.”

When asked how “Trickle UP” eco-nomics work, the man admitted that he was not sure. “But,” he said, “it has something to do with caring, empa-thy, and taxing the snot out of the rich. Something like that. It’s very scientifi c, mixed with New Age philosophy, or something.”

Said one Liberal, “I like the fact that our company is not concerned with selfi sh, evil, greedy nonsense like mak-ing a profi t. We will care for the people with a company built on social justice, peace, and harmony. Add to that I think that we might unionize to make sure that we don’t have to work too hard and can retire early.”

When asked what kind of work they would be doing, and how they will be paid, the group of former job seekers admitted that they were not sure, be-cause their new boss was suddenly more interested in talking to a telephone pole than them. For some reason, he suddenly became angry with the tele-phone pole, and began kicking it.

But their new employer did not even have a home. How then could he afford offi ces, factories, or retail locations? When asked where the homeless man would get the money to start a new company one Liberal answered,

“We will have the government take the money from those successful, rich billionaires and big successful corpora-tions to subsidize our company. They don’t need that money. Not when there are failing companies that are loosing money that need to be subsidized be-

fore they go out of business.” “This is an eco friendly business,” one

worker retorted. “We do not need or de-sire factories or offi ce space that would considerably add to global warming.” To further prove his point he gestured toward his boss who was now pushing his meager belongings in a stolen Win-Dixie shopping cart, down the middle of the street during rush hour traffi c.

With that, several workers ran out into the middle of the busy intersection, bravely stepping in front of a evil on coming SUV to save their new employ-er. One worker, however, excused him-self to rush home and tell his spouse that they would not be losing their house to foreclosure. All of their prob-lems had been solved.

But if all of the profi t is taxed away from successful companies to subsi-dize those operating at a loss, how are the successful companies going to stay in business? From where will those un-successful companies get the money to fi ll the void after they have taxed the successful companies out of business?

“You just need to keep spreading the cash around,” said one Liberal, as he helped his new boss pick a dirty sock they found out of the gutter. “The cash in this nation is almost all in the hands of a few people and that is why we have a problem. The rich get richer the poor get poorer.”

But rich people need to hire employ-ees to get rich. When the rich get rich everyone who works for them prospers. Besides, “cash” is just paper. Cash is not wealth. Wealth is the product a company produces. Cash is what we use as a tool of exchange. What good is it to spread cash around to a com-pany that cannot successfully produce the things that we need, like food, cloth-ing, and fuel?

“EAT THE RICH!” screamed one em-ployee.

But after you have “eaten” all of the rich what then do you have left to eat?

“SOCIAL JUSTICE!” screamed an-other one of the new employees.

And so it seems that the residents of Pegituck North Carolina have been saved by “Trickle UP Economics.” Though this reporter is not sure what item of actual value will be produced, these newly employed citizens are sure that they will soon all be rich --- though --- rich is evil and selfi sh --- but only if somebody else is rich --- not them --- because they got their money by tak-ing it through force of government from people who earned it honestly --- or something like that.

SHOCKERHomeless man provides jobs

By 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.

About NothingBy Ken DeLaat

Early on my Mom was really my only favorite Mom, due mainly to her vast superiority to the remainder of human-kind. As I grew I began to realize there were other Moms not equally, but close to equally endowed with such incal-culable qualities, but mine remained my favorite. In adolescence I became rather fond of other Mothers such as Frank Zappa of the Mothers of Inven-tion but despite the occasional confl icts between teen and parent she fended off Zappa’s popularity and remained as #1.

Nearly 15 years have passed since her time on this earth ended, but her in-fl uence on my life has been immeasur-able (at least the good parts. I blame my older brothers for the other stuff since, well, it has to be somebody’s fault). Her primary infl uence may have been my ongoing reverence and admiration for those who do the Mom thing well. The ones I’ve always felt took being a Mom as kind of an art form where master-pieces were created. My top 3? My life-long partner in parenting, Lil, my sister and confi dant Sue, and the wonderful woman who joined our family and made me a grandfather, Candice. These 3 are enshrined in my personal ‘Moms Hall of Fame’ and in their honor I give you these annual Mother’s Day quotes from those who have already said it better than I could hope to.

“If you have a mom, there is nowhere you are likely to go where a prayer has not already been.” - Robert Brault

“Mother’s love is peace. It need not be acquired, it need not be deserved.” - Erich Fromm

“My mother had a slender, small body, but a large heart - a heart so large that everybody’s joys found welcome in it, and hospitable accommodation.” - Mark Twain

“Biology is the least of what makes someone a mother.” - Oprah Winfrey

“The best conversations with mothers always take place in silence, when only the heart speaks. “ - Carrie Latet

“A mother is not a person to lean on, but a person to make leaning unneces-sary.” - Dorothy Canfi eld Fisher

“A mother’s love for her child is like nothing else in the world. It knows no law, no pity; it dares all things and crushes down remorselessly all that stands in its path.” - Agatha Christie

“By and large, mothers and house-wives are the only workers who do not have regular time off. They are the great vacationless class.” - Anne Mor-row Lindbergh

“I really learned it all from mothers.” - Dr. Benjamin Spock

“Mothers all want their sons to grow

up to be president, but they don’t want them to become politicians in the pro-cess.” - John Fitzgerald Kennedy

“Of all the rights of women, the great-est is to be a mother.” - Lin Yutang

“Motherhood is like Albania-- you can’t trust the descriptions in the books, you have to go there.” - Marni Jackson

“To describe my mother would be to write about a hurricane in its perfect power.” - Maya Angelou

“Youth fades, love droops, the leaves of friendship fall; a mother’s secret hope outlives them all.” - Oliver Wendell Holmes

“When I was a child, my mother said to me, ‘If you become a soldier, you’ll be a general. If you become a monk you’ll end up as the pope.’ Instead I became a painter and wound up as Picasso.” - Pablo Picasso

“I bet deep down you still wish your Mom would take you clothes shopping every August for the new school year.” - Bridget Willard

“Never say anything on the phone that you wouldn’t want your mother to hear at your trial.” - Sydney Biddle Barrows

“The commonest fallacy among wom-en is that simply having children makes one a mother—which is as absurd as believing that having a piano makes one a musician.” - Sydney J. Harris

The only thing a lawyer won’t question is the legitimacy of his mother.” - W. C. Fields

“A man never sees all that his mother has been to him until it’s too late to let her know that he sees it.” - W. D. How-ells

“I want my children to have all the things I couldn’t afford. Then I want to move in with them.” - Phyllis Diller

“My Mother always told me,’ never grow a wishbone, daughter, where your backbone ought to be.’” -Clementine Paddleford

“The Father is always a Republican toward his son, his Mother a Democrat.” - Robert Frost

“One of the oldest human needs is having someone to wonder where you are when you don’t come home at night.” - Margaret Mead

“When I stopped seeing my mother with the eyes of a child, I saw the wom-an who helped me give birth to myself.” - Nancy Friday

There is no way to be a perfect moth-er, and a million ways to be a good one” - Jill Churchill

And fi nally;“Mother is the name of God in the lips

and hearts of children.” - William Make-peace Thackeray

Rock on, Moms everywhere.

Dear Editor:I would like to respond to Mr. James

Johnston’s letter in the Newsrecord. He said that it is shameful that Wyoming is one of the seven States without some kind of smoking ban. Good. I am not a smoker and I hate the smell of it. How-ever, we call ourselves the last Free State for a good reason. If you own the business, it is your choice how you run it. If you want to let people smoke, then that’s ok. You won’t have my business. But smoking bans are nothing but tak-ing away property rights. Next are you going to say what I can and can’t do in my home that I bought and paid for? If I pay and run this business, it is mine, not yours. The government needs to stay out of any private ownership af-fairs. Our Bill of Rights is law and is not supposed to be interpreted for con-venience. Most of the Bill of Rights is essentially protection of property. If you want a nanny state without individual freedom, move to California.

John ShertzerEditor: “We fought a war because

our lives and property were being loot-ed and destroyed. I will ever dread a man or a government who assumes that force must be used, and, when he believes he knows how best to run an-other’s property.” - Thomas Jefferson

Dear Editor:I really like your newspaper. You are

really trying to make our community look good. Keep it up, I have just or-dered a subscription.

Jason FlanneganEditor: We will. There are many im-

provements to be made, but we have performed leaps and bounds already. Please get involved by answering the question of the week, open article sec-tion, and letters to the editor. The most help you can give is the word of mouth that we need. Thank you for your sub-scription.

Dear Editor:It is good to see Mr. Glenn Woods’ ar-

ticle. First, he knows what he is talking about. Second, we have a local political show host writing a local political col-umn. What do I care for someone who is from N.Y. City? Keep it up Glenn, love your show.

Keith JensonEditor: Glenn is a good writer and

knows his information. He is just as much a part of this newspaper as the owners. Your right, having a local per-sonality write for a local newspaper is only right.

Dear Editor:When are we going to learn? Wyo-

ming has the highest spending per per-son, the biggest population percentage that works for government, most spend-ing per student at the schools, etc. Yet we let our politicians around the State call us Conservative? We need to re-evaluate our thinking.

Chris JohnsonEditor: You are right; however there

is always more than meets the eye. We have high spending because of our low population. We also have no income tax. We have many advantages that other states don’t have. We should take all of this in account. Also, there is always the option of running for offi ce yourself, because that is the only way to really make the change you would like to see with government.

Letters to the Editor

To submit letters (less than 300 words)

go to www.campbell

countyobserver.net

9

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Public Pulse

Almost GoneBy Campbell County Resident

If we only knew back then what we know nowHow different things would have been!Mother would still be in her home,Cared for by her loved ones in familiar surroundings. “She’s safer in the facility. She has routine,She is calm. She has professional nursing care,There is no danger now. She has no worries,Her life will be easy. I’ll make all decisions now.” Eighteen months after Mother’s imprisonment,Our attempts to bring her to my home for dinner –A Mother’s Day meal is planned –Are met with Sister/Guardian’s refusal. “It wouldn’t do her any good; she might get anxious!You’ve never proven such outings would be benefi cial.You just want her out of the facility.Your reasons are selfi sh; you think only of you.” Perhaps a physician can persuade Sister/Guardian.I write him a letter; he sees it my way.He tells her our Mother would be fi ne;A family meal in my home is a reasonable request. “I called your sister just now,And she won’t change her mind.I tried, but I’m sorry. Nothing can be done.She’s adamant. All sorts of excuses – wish I could help.” A word to the wise: Don’t give power to one.She belongs in her home. Almost lost all hope.God, bless Mother with the best. Give us wisdom.Her life is nearing the end. Enjoy her while there’s time.

The worst fi shing trip I have ever taken has turned out to be the best. Nineteen years ago my wife and I went with another couple to Lake Claire in Canada for a week of eating blue gills, perch, walleye, and pike. We packed up our pop up camper and headed north. We had planned on renting a boat when we arrived at the lake, so the trailer we had bought used was the only thing we were towing. Everything was going smoothly. We had a great scenic drive, in-depth con-versation with my wife, and the relaxation of starting a trip that I had saved for four years. About twenty fi ve miles from the Montana/Canada border I looked out the front right corner of my windshield to see a tire passing me on the side of the highway. Right at about that time I felt it, a loud thumb followed by a long grinding noise. The truck was pulling and jerking while I hit the brakes and came to a stop. I knew what had happened. I knew that when I went out to look at what was wrong, that I would fi nd a camper without a tire. The good thing is, I found the tire about a quarter mile out in the fi eld we were passing.

Back on the road after the hour it took to fi nd the wheel and install it, I had settled down. Right when I began enjoying the ride again (after about 15 miles) the same loud thump and grinding noise happened again. I didn’t see the tire, but knew that this time it was my fault. I had tightened the lug nuts in the air, but not when I set the weight of the trailer on the ground.

Later in the trip and after a fl at tire, we fi nally ar-

rived at Lake Claire. We parked on a slight hill and the camp spots for all the campers were strips of cement. I popped mine up, unhooked it, and there she went. The wind caught it and blew it backwards into an-other family’s camper. Apologies were made, camper hooked up and brought into the spot, secured, and it was time to relax. I remember thinking, “It can only get good from here. I haven’t had a vacation in years; it is just the stress getting out.” I was wrong.

That day we got our boat and went to put it in the water. I had my wife in it ready to drive it away when it happened. Everyone saw it. I drove the boat right into the water. Yes, you do have to unstrap it from the trailer. I got help from men of the long line of specta-tors that were waiting with their boats, and remem-ber thinking about how embarrassing it was. What a terrible trip. I was screwing up the whole time, noth-ing went right, and I spent more money than anyone should have.

It was worth it though. I lost about six lures, got my line stuck in the motor, burned my hands adjusting a piece of wood on the fi re, and had a great time regard-less with my wife and our friends. I could have called it the worst trip of my life given everything that hap-pened, but I have found it was the most memorable. We joke about that trip often, and there isn’t a day that goes by that I wouldn’t re-live it in a heartbeat. Well, all of it but the fl at tire. By that point, the whole wheel thing was getting ridicules.

Open Article of the WeekBy John Bridgas - Campbell County

Our Public ServantBy Karen Waters

If you looked Sue Wallis up on-line you would soon fi nd that she in nationally known as an advocate for animal agri-culture, food policy issues, and the horse industry. Because of her unfl inching ad-vocacy for rural issues she has garnered more than her fair share of detractors…some of whom have made a cottage in-dustry out of publishing vitriolic misinfor-mation to discredit her work. Nonetheless, for Wallis, family, community, and culture come fi rst.

There may be some merit to charges that she is unconventional. For instance, Sue and her husband, Rod McQueary were married on the full moon, and, “nei-ther of us can tell you what the date was,” Wallis admits with a smile.

In a recent interview she expressed the unfl inching love of freedom typical of what one expects from a female rancher from Wyoming who dabbles in everything from poetry to politics.

“Everything is a freedom issue,” she starts, barely sitting down in the chair. “If you are an adult human being of rea-sonable capacity, whatever risk you are willing to take, as long as it doesn’t hurt another, should not be the governments business. This is a core value.”

One example she gives is Food Free-dom, an ardent effort to return the right of free Americans to decide what they eat, and how it is produced, and to eliminate the over-reach of government at every level in regards to food regulation. “Do you know,” she continues, “that in France it is illegal to sell eggs that have been washed? That is because when an egg is laid it is covered with a membrane that helps prevent salmonella and e-coli. What do The Food Cops do, here in the U. S.? Our eggs that you buy at the grocery store are dumped in bleach. THINK about that.”

Another sore spot is milk. “Did you know,” she starts again, “The milk you buy in the store, pasteurized milk, is cooked milk? It is illegal, according to the Depart-ment of Agriculture, to sell unpasteurized milk. The real benefi t of pasteurization is shelf life. Pasteurized milk can sit for a month, and then it rots. Fresh milk is good in your refrigerator for a week but, then it turns into yogurt or cheese.”

“Did you know, 97% of Wyoming’s pro-duce is shipped somewhere else for pro-cessing, and then shipped back to Wyo-ming? It’s nuts,” she continues. “Health Inspectors prevented people from having pot-lucks at a historical fi lm society in Jackson Hole, church bazaars in River-ton, Sheridan, Gillette, all over the state. They wanted all food to be prepared in ‘certifi ed and inspected’ kitchens, which by defi nition cannot be home kitchens. They need to get their hands off any tra-ditional gathering, whether it’s to sell and raise funds or not.”

Another issue close to her heart is ener-gy. “I wish I could remember the name of the woman (politician), who said it to me. But it was ‘We are going to end all use of coal and go to electric cars.’ Well how are you going to get the electric power if not from coal?” she laughed. “We are one of seven states that produce and export coal. All states are our customers. Thirty-four or thirty-fi ve states depend on our coal to turn on their lights,” she said stabbing her fi nger onto the table. Renewables? High likelihood of increasing costs. I believe in teaming up with customers.”

She is also quick to voice her concerns about “kids in trouble. Let’s say you have a kid who needs help. Now, the only way to get state assistance is to turn the kid over to the state. That’s just wrong.”

“I would vote for vouchers in a heart-beat,” she added. “We have a vested interest in seeing that all our citizens are educated. Our Constitution says every-one has a right to as near as free educa-tion as possible. Everyone should be able to go out and buy the best education you can afford.”

“This is the reason I support a state lot-tery in Wyoming, she added.” We have a rich blessing of mineral wealth. The Ha-thaway Scholarship is the only fully fund-ed trust in America. But, it’s not enough. I would like to see an increase in funds and expand eligibility to non-traditional students and military veterans. Now, only high school students are eligible. And, the G.I. Bill for our returning veterans just isn’t enough. I would like to see it expand to training schools and out of state col-leges. There is no medical school in the state. You should be able to get the best education you can fi nd. If you are coming back to Wyoming after graduation, and its Harvard that trips your trigger, go for it! But in order to do that we need to dedi-cate a funding stream into the Hathaway corpus, and the only way to do that with-out raising taxes, or impacting our exist-ing state budget, is to institute something like a statewide lottery which a majority of our citizens want, and under the proposed Georgia model, would not require any state appropriation whatsoever.”

When pushed to describe herself politi-cally, eventually she said, “’Fiscal conser-vative.’ I hate labels. I believe in limited government. That means I believe the government should only do what private enterprise can’t do. When someone is truly in trouble, there is a responsibility to help. Churches, private people; they are the safety net. Government needs to get out of the business of taking care of people.”

Wallis was born in Gillette and raised on the Recluse ranch where her mother was raised, and that her parents bought when they were young. “Dad was in the legislature for 16 or 17 years,” she ex-plained.” We had a lot of political discus-sions around the dinner table.”

She still lives on the family ranch with her husband and fellow poet, Rod McQueary, and her folks, Dick And Myrt. Both Wal-lis and McQueary have published books that are available at the Campbell County Public Library.

All opinions in the Public Pulse section are not necessarily the opinions of the

Campbell County Observer

10

Sports Report

Little League prepares for upcoming season

Little league kids practice at the County park on Sleepy Hollow Blvd. and Union Chapel for their upcoming season. This team, the Rays, are playing at the “Pitching Machine” level for ages 7 and 8.

Gillette College Rodeo wraps up another good year2011 was another good year for Gil-

lette College Rodeo. The Girls team dominated the spring schedule winning fi rst at 4 of the 5 rodeo’s. Leading up to our second regional title in four years.

The College National Finals Team will consist of Chelsea Moore (Daw-son Creek British Columbia Goat Tying Breakaway Roping and Barrel Racing), Jordan Thurston (Lance Creek Wyo-ming Goat Tying), and Crystal Hershey (Newcastle Wyoming Barrel Racing).

On the Men’s side of things we will also be taking a team to the College National Finals Rodeo. The men also had a great season winning Reserve Regional Champions.

The College National Finals Team will consist of Cole Elshere (Faith South Dakota Saddle Bronc Riding), Chancy

Miller (Faith South Dakota Saddle Bronc Riding), Dane Kissack (Spearfi sh South Dakota Tie Down Roping), Casey Burer (Mandan North Dakota Bareback Riding), Nathan Schaper (Grassy Butte North Dakota Bull Riding), and Rance Maddox (Hecla South Dakota Bull Rid-ing).

The Central Rocky Mountain Re-gion consists of 16 competing schools (some 4 year some 2 year). Of these 16 schools Gillette College is once again the only school to qualify two teams to the CNFR.

“We are competitive because of the support we get from Campbell County. We would not be a competitive team without the community behind us,” Said coach Will LaDuke.

Go Pronghorns!!!

Girl’s Champions

Men’s Reserve Champions

GC Track team brings home 3 Region Champions

The GC Track team had a great week-end in Council Bluffs, IA at the Outdoor Track Regional Championships. The team sent 7 runners and came away with 3 Region Champions, and 4 more All-Region honors. Personal records were set by all 7 runners too.

Kelsie Dellos - Region Champion Steeplechase

Mary Nelson - Region Champion 10,000m and All-Region 5000m

Wesley Cheruiyot - Region Champion 10,000m; All-Region 1500m; and All-Region 5000m

Raven Ruger - All-Region 10,000mDylan McCoy - a 50 second PR in the

5000m, 30 second PR in the 10,000mDevvin Hayden - a 20 second PR

in the 5000m, 30 second PR in the 10,000m

Mercedes Wagner - 15 second PR in the 1500m

Next up for the GC Track team will be the NJCAA Outdoor Track Cham-pionships in Hutchinson, KS on May 19 through 21. The team will be send-ing 4 athletes to compete. They are Wesley Cheruiyot (10,000m 5000m and 1500m), Hayden Hohnholt (Stee-plechase and 5000m), Kelsie Dellos (Steeplechase and 5000m), and Mary Nelson (10,000m and 5000m).

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Wyoming Track Classic Campbell County results...

Girls 3200 Meter RunAbby Phillips First Place 11:38.23 11:45.20 DeStefano, Quinn Third Place 12:16.18 12:19.93 Hauschild, McKenna Fifth Place 12:14.31 12:29.69

Boys 3200 Meter RunRodrigues, Jamon Sixth Place 10:30.56 10:27.73

Boys 100 Meter DashBazemore, Nick Second Place 11.07 11.08

Girls 1600 Meter RunDeStefano, Audra Second Place 5:25.49 5:21.76 Simmons, Bridget Third Place 5:26.36 5:26.20 Sharp, Sarah Fourth Place 5:26.57 5:47.65 Jeffrie, Jessie Seventh Place 5:32.47 5:55.02

Boys 1600 Meter RunMyers, Derek Fourth Place 4:40.44 4:47.94 Andrew, Thomas Seventh Place 4:53.57 4:51.14 8. Aragon, McKennon Eighth Place 4:43.03 4:52.04

Girls 400 Meter Dash Gorman, Erin Seventh Place 1:02.97 1:04.39

Boys 300 Meter HurdlesGillette, Tanner Third Place 41.31 41.25

Girls 800 Meter Run Wilhite, Ashlyn Fourth Place 2:27.06 2:26.77 Blake, Chelsie Seventh Place 2:30.08 2:37.24 Gorman, Erin Ninth Place 2:27.55 2:42.78

Boys 200 Meter DashBazemore, Nick Second Place 22.74 22.68

Boys Pole VaultJohnston, Jesse First Place 15-00.00 14-00.00 Eichenberger, Will Second Place 13-06.00 14-00.00 Erisman, Dallas Seventh Place 12-06.00 12-00.00

Boys Shot PutBousa, Riley Sixth Place 49-07.00 49-04.75

Girls Long JumpLazarus, Ashley Seventh Place 15-11.75 16-01.75 Poppleton, Dusti 10th Place 15-11.25 15-00.50

Boys Triple JumpNutting, Beau Ninth Place 40-03.00 37-04.25

Boys Discus ThrowBousa, Riley Fifth Place 143-01 148-01 Gill, Jake 10th Place 142-05 142-00

Girls Pole VaultAndrie, Paula First Place 12-00.00 11-06.00 Hays, Melanie Seventh Place 9-00.00 8-06.00

Girls Triple JumpAndrie, Paula First Place 35-11.75 35-06.50

11

Sports Report

Spring Soccer underway in Campbell CountyCampbell County Parks and Recreation Department Spring Soccer is in full swing.

Friends and family gather to enjoy a particularly nice spring evening at Bicentennial Park to enjoy some soccer.

Local Bowlers On Great RunBy Karen Waters

The only thing louder than balls knocking down pins last Satur-day at Came lanes Bowling Cen-ter was the sounds of happy kids everywhere. “Oh, good grief, Momma!” “Thank you,” “Ow-wee,” and “Good job!” were all in-terspersed with high fives and the sounds of running feet.

Dusty Linder, President of Youth Bowling in Wyoming, looked equally pleased and tired. “I han-dle the whole state,” he said. “We have 1,500 kids in Wyoming that bowl and they get scholarships for participation. Not for how good you are at it, but for participation.”

Currently there is $500,000 al-located for the scholarships. This money can be used to attend any form of higher learning, whether an on-line degree, a four year col-lege or a trade school. While the children receive trophies right away, the money only goes to the schools, thereby reserving their amateur status.

Sabrena Divis, the youngest in the state to bowl a perfect game of 300, at the age of 16, has earned $5,600 in scholarships. “You can go above that,” stressed Linder. “Sabrena is now bowling at the collegiate level at the University of Nebraska,” he added with a huge smile.

One child, while equally excited, stayed close to Mom and Dad. Four year old Madisen Alexander has been bowling for six months an activity that provides much needed distraction between her two open heart and one open lung surgeries. As her mother Mindy Alexander watched her 38 pound daughter heave a 6 pound ball down the lane, she said softly “You don’t know how lucky you are until you have a heart patient. People get so lost in financial problems. People take their kids for granted. Mike (Davis, the owner of Camel lanes) is really, really good. He had an extra ball and donated it so she

could play.”Aunamae Brinkerhoff was sport-

ing a cast on her left arm from a tumble off the monkey bars but didn’t let it slow her down “I’m up!” she shouted and disappeared in a sea of bodies. “She’s been playing for four years,” sighed her father, Phillip.

Robin Hawley, Youth Coach, has been involved for five years. “It’s a pleasure to be here with these kids,” he said.” One day they just threw the (coach) shirt at me now I get certified each year.”

“They work really hard,” he add-ed. “I’m proud of all of them.”

Kaycee Kline who was third in Scratch and fourth in Handicap at the State tournament took home five trophies.

“Bowling is fun,” she beamed.“This is the best day of the year,”

said Divis with a smile as he sur-veyed the activity.

“Some people make it in the bigs on raw athlet-ic talent and some people by heart. Then there are those very few who made it because it was

their destiny.” - Samual Cooriski

Sports Question of the Week

Will the Campbell County Girls Soccer take first place this year in their Conference?

“I think they can take first place. They have played well, and just need to step it up for the final test.”

- Coral Bensen

“I believe the Lady Camels Soccer will win the conference.”- Linda Foresburge

NJCAA Region XI results(at Iowa Western Community College)

Women 800 Meter RunMercedes Wagner (Gillette) 11th Place 3:04.51

Women 1500 Meter RunMercedes Wagner (Gillette) 9th Place 6:14.13

Women 5000 Meter RunMary Nelson (Gillette) 3rd Place 20:34.35Kelsie Dellos (Gillette) 4th Place 21:02.11Raven Ruger (Gillette) 5th Place 21:43.77

Women 1000 Meter RunMary Nelson (Gillette) 1st Place 42:44.68Raven Rugar (Gillette) 2nd Place 49:40.40

Women 3000 Meter SteeplechaseKelsie Dellos (Gillette) 1st Place 13:21.40

Men 1500 Meter RunWesely Cheruiyot (Gillette) 2nd Place 3:53.83

Men 5000 Meter RunWesely Cheruiyot (Gillette) 2nd Place 15:17.49Devvin Hayden (Gillette) 7th Place 15:53.94Dylan McCoy (Gillette) 9th Place 16:44.12

Men 10,000 Meter RunWesely Cheruiyot (Gillette) 1st Place 32:00.91Devvin Hayden (Gillette) 4th Place 33:32.80Dyln McCoy 7th Place 36:15.31

Campbell County Boys Soccer Results

Campbell County - 0Casper Natrona - 1

Buffalo - 3Campbell County - 1

Campbell County - 0Green River - 1

Sheridan - 1Campbell County - 0

Campbell County - 0Riverton -3

Casper Kelly Walsh - 0Campbell County -1

Campbell County - 1Laramie - 5

Cheyenne East - 1Campbell County - 2

Cheyenne Central - 2Campbell County - 0

Campbell County - 0Sheridan - 3

Campbell County - 0Casper Kelly Walsh - 3

Laramie - 6Campbell County - 0

Upcoming GamesCampbell County vs. Cheyenne Central on May 6

Campbell County vs. Cheyenne East on May 7

Campbell County Girls Soccer Results

Casper Natrona - 0Campbell County - 4

Campbell County - 0Buffalo - 0

Campbell County - 5Green River - 0

Campbell County - 3Sheridan - 0

Riverton - 0Campbell County - 5

Campbell County - 4Casper Kelly Walsh - 0

Laramie - 1Campbell County - 3

Campbell County - 1Cheyenne Central - 3

Campbell County - 0Cheyenne East - 1 (OT)

Sheridan - 1Campbell County - 4

Casper Kelly Walsh - 0Campbell County - 4

Campbell County - 2Laramie - 1 (OT)

Upcoming GamesCampbell County vs. Cheyenne Central on May 6

Campbell County vs. Cheyenne East on May 7

Patriot Publishing is a small publishing business starting up right here in Wyo-ming. We not only publish the Campbell County Observer and calendars, but any-thing in print. We will soon also have a monthly publication that we think you will enjoy. If you have a book and can’t get a major company to publish 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.

12

Our Roots

AstronomyBy Mike Borda

This column is traditionally dedicated to American history, focusing on an in-depth review of some section of our country’s roots. However, there are some topics that transcend America, or any country for that matter. There are subjects of our history that encom-pass all societies, throughout all ages. Astronomy is one of them. In honor of the final voyage of the space shuttle Endeavor, I want to take a moment to review the high-lights of our study of the stars – as-tronomy.

The field of as-tronomy, one of the first natural sci-ences, has been practiced for at least 4,000 years, when monuments such as Stonehenge were built, lining up the ris-ing sun on the midwinter solstice. Since then we have advanced a great deal, as we now foray into questions regard-ing not only the beginning of space, but also the makeup of all parts of the universe. Great historians and philoso-phers such as Herodotus, Plato, Sima Qian, and Copernicus all discussed the sky, whether they knew what was in it or not. Today, it is historians such as David Christian that are beginning a new movement, known as “Big His-tory”, which attempts to explain history through a varying, large scale approach including the history of the universe. Let’s start at the beginning, though.

While there are references to as-tronomy before him, astronomy dra-matically changed with the influence of Plato, one of the Classical world’s first philosophers, who lived from 429 to 347 BCE. He was among the first to suggest a wide range of astronomical theories. He has been recorded as sug-gesting, among other things, the idea of

a sun-centered universe instead of an earth-centered universe. This is truly a drastic change in Greek thinking at the time, as most scientists before him had no second thoughts about proclaiming that the Earth was indeed the center of the universe, and that all else revolved around us.

After the Greeks and Romans, how-ever, astronomy took a downward turn. With the rise of popular religion, there was a cor-relating decline of astronomical dis-coveries. The me-dieval world, for the most part, dis-regarded astron-

omy as a science. This would change, however, with the dawn of the so-called, “Renaissance” period in Europe from the 14th to 17th centuries.

The “Copernican Revolution” came when Nicolaus Copernicus, a 16th cen-tury Polish astronomer, proved to the world that we revolved around the Sun, and that the Earth was not the center of the universe. This was, to be sure, an historic event in history. With the ad-vent of the heliocentric (sun-centered) model, the whole of scientific history had to be reanalyzed. We could no lon-ger consider ourselves the center of the universe.

From that point, we know the names. Galileo, Einstein, Hubble, and the many others that took on astronomy in the years since have brought us closer to the stars than ever before. Now, with the final mission of Endeavor, we are ending a chapter in space exploration and understanding that has undoubted-ly changed the way we view ourselves in the universe.

I don’t know about you, but I can’t wait to see what the next chapter brings.

Wyoming“The Equality State”

By Jessica Boynton

Wyoming is the Equality State. Such is the ideology behind the state’s nick-name and motto, and the assumption underlying our fierce adoption of the American Dream. I hadn’t been living here long when I learned the simple ori-gins of the designation: Wyoming was, apparently, the first state to give women the vote. It remained a mystery, though, that this particular act was taken up as a foundational event in the state’s de-velopment; that a single civil rights act has become an icon of the spirit of Wyo-ming.

It turns out that Wyoming wasn’t sim-ply the first state to grant women the vote (in fact, Wyoming granted suffrage to women twenty-one years before it was admitted to the Union). Wyoming women were also granted the right to control their own property and the right to be called to jury duty relatively early on. As women began taking political of-fice, Wyoming gained another collec-tion of firsts: Esther Hobart Morris was the first woman to serve as a judge; Estelle Meyer was the first Superinten-dent of Public Instruction; Nellie Tayloe Ross was the first female governor in the country.

Does this array of early rights really make Wyoming an equal rights champi-on? It’s worthwhile to ask why women’s suffrage was granted here in the first place. The idealistic implication would be that, from the start, the constituents of the land fiercely valued equal rights, at least between the genders. Alterna-tive perspectives, however, suggest less altruistic incentives: women were offered the vote in a desperate attempt to attract the fairer sex to the as yet male-dominated state; women’s suf-frage served to add white voters to a constituency that had recently become inundated with ex-slaves looking to vote for their own interests; or any number of theories. To further detract from the ro-mance of the concept, there was actu-ally no organized campaign, no protests or debates, regarding women’s suffrage in Wyoming. The original introduction of women’s suffrage was not necessarily for the sake of equality.

What does this all mean for the ide-ology of equality? Do we dismiss the notion as just another misleading tool of unification? A false rallying point? The anthropologist in me could write volumes on the subjects of ideology, ethnicity, and so-called ‘imagined com-munity’. The journalist role I play here

requires me to truncate myself as fol-lows:

Whatever the inspiration for women’s suffrage here, Wyoming was used as a positive example by suffragettes across the nation. The precedent set here pro-moted women’s rights nationwide. This should be a point of pride for all Wyo-mingites.

Whatever worries we might have about pragmatic incentives for women’s suffrage in Wyoming, our local leaders took great risks to maintain the rights they had granted. In applying to join the Union, officials were strongly urged to rescind women’s right to vote. Their response? “Wyoming would remain out of the Union 100 years rather than join without women’s suffrage”. We stand by our word.

Finally, whatever the origins, Wyo-mingites’ shared regard of ‘the equality state’ binds us together in the most im-portant way possible: we agree on what our aims should be. Yes, it is imperative to eternally question whether our poli-cies demonstrate any courage behind our convictions; and, yes, we must ex-plore the curious differences that can be found in our definitions of equality; but there is true and unassailable value in ideologies that bring us together on the unending path to betterment, cama-raderie, and a fair go for all.

This weeks’ column is generalized to Wyoming, but I reach out to you to teach me more about the topic. Camp-bell County, does this characterization seem fair? Am I coming to the right con-clusions? I always invite your input be-cause I am your student. The story, the history, the ideologies are yours: I am merely a scholar.

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1972 GMC for sale. Torn down to frame. Body good. All parts there. Great restora-tion project. $750. Email [email protected] for information.

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]

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]

Help WantedLocal 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]

Data input. Work one day a week from home. 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.

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

Don’t forget about the neighborhood ga-rage sale during Sleepy Hollow Days on the first Saturday in June. Many Sales. We will have one at 5105 Tarry St. Lots of good stuff.

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.

“The second that our country stops expansion, as with any empire, that is the second that we start the process of crumbling within.”

- James Polk

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