Interchange - August 2012

August 2012, Vol. 40, Issue 8Interchange

a WYDOT publication

WHITETOPPINGRefreshing the road near Cokeville

WASHTO’s newest presidentDirector Cox steps into role

Patrol’s 83rd ClassSeven newly commissioned troopers

2 Interchange n August 2012

InterchangeInterchange is published for

employees of the Wyoming Depart-ment of Transportation by its Public Affairs Office and a number of field correspondents.

Interchange invites submissions from all employees. Please send them to either your district correspondents or to: Carlie Van Winkle, Interchange editor, 5300 Bishop Blvd., Chey-enne, WY, 82009-3340. The Public Affairs Office may also be contacted by phoning (307) 777-4165, faxing (307) 777-4289, or sending e-mail to [email protected]

StaffWYDOT Director:

John F. Cox

Public Affairs Manager:Doug McGee

Editor/Art Director:Carlie Van Winkle

Contributors: Cody Beers District 5Bruce Burrows Public AffairsRoss Doman District 1Jeff Goetz District 2Stephanie Harsha District 3Ronda Holwell District 4Dave Kingham Public AffairsSgt. Stephen Townsend PatrolCarlie Van Winkle Public Affairs

Photography: Rick Carpenter Public Affairs

Seeing clearly again thanks to WYDOT

Dear Barry (Bowersox),Thank you so much for taking such

good care of me and my glasses. They arrived safe and sound. The delay in my note was caused by my return home only yesterday, July 4.

We truly appreciate your going the extra mile to help us and to return the glasses. I will keep the case you sent. It is a good one and will remind me that there are worthy and responsible people in the world.

Please also extend my appreciation to Guy and his crew for their carefulness in cleaning the rest area (it was very well maintained), as well as caring enough to preserve an unclaimed pair of glasses.

I am grateful, Tim Miskimen

Rest areas worth seeingMy wife and I recently took a trip from

Cheyenne up to Billings with stays in between. I wanted to say that the Wyo-ming rest stops are fantastic! They are kept beautifully! Neat and clean with nice areas to stop and enjoy a lunch or just a break. We have noticed this in other areas of Wyoming also, such as Meridan. You are doing a great job on them and we appreciate it very much. Thank you and keep up the good work WYDOT!

Mark Dickehage

Kudos for WHP SergeantThis letter is to acknowledge Sgt.

Duane Ellis and the contributions he has made not only to our program but also to the community of Cheyenne and the state of Wyoming as a whole.

Sgt. Ellis has been a part of the Safe Kids Wyoming Leadership for the past five years, and in that time has gone above and beyond in helping to raise awareness of the devastating effects of not wear-ing seat belts, not properly restraining children in child restraints and impaired driving. He has been involved in many of the programs we offer to educate the

public about injury prevention, such as the Count Down to Drive program, Safe Kids Day, community education booths, training employees of various agencies on traffic safety and many more. He has always been one of the first to step up and offer his help while he’s on duty, but also as a volunteer for many of the events.

Sgt. Ellis assists with the decision making as part of the Leadership Team with the efforts made by the 17 Safe Kids Coalitions and Partners around the state to better their programs and offer man-power whenever possible. He has traveled to various locations and made sacrifices to be there to better our communities. He is known across the state of Wyoming as an expert in his field, and has never not lived up to the reputation.

We are very fortunate to have Sgt. Ellis as a member of the programs he is involved with, and feel that he should be recognized for those efforts.

Sincerely, Stephanie Heitsch Injury Prevention Coordinator Cheyenne Regional Medical Center

Letters

August 2012 n Interchange 3

Also in this issue

Letters ....................................2

District briefs ........................4

Commentary ........................6

WYDOT by the Numbers .....6

It’s Not Their First Rodeo ...11

Moving Forward ................14

Extra Mile Awards .............15

Training at a Glance..........15

Noteworthy .........................16

District news ......................18

In the Community ........... 20

Passings ...............................21

WTDEA ................................ 22

Be sure to check out the online version of Interchange at http://issuu.com/wydot.pao, or click on the link found on the employee’s internal Web site home page.

Contents

7 A Benefit BBQ Helping out fellow WYDOTer Amber Schlabs

8 Patrol’s 83rd Class Seven newly commissioned troopers 10 WASHTO’s new president Director Cox steps into new role

12 Whitetopping Refreshing the road near Cokeville

On the cover:Whitetopping a section of US 30 between the

Idaho state line and Cokeville.Photo: Bruce Burrows/WYDOT

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District briefsNew passing law for two-lane roads now in effect

A new law that allows drivers to exceed the speed limit by up to 10 mph to pass a vehicle traveling under the speed limit on some two-lane roads in Wyoming is now in effect.

The law approved by the 2012 Legisla-ture applies only on two-lane roads with a posted speed limit of 50 mph or higher. In addition, the only vehicles the law authorizes to exceed that speed limit are passenger cars, pickups and motorcycles, and only if they are not towing a trailer.

Those vehicles can exceed the posted speed limit on the highway section by up to 10 mph, in order to get around the slower vehicle safely.

“As an example, on a two-lane highway with a posted speed limit of 65 mph, you are allowed to pass if the vehicle you are passing is going slower than the speed limit,” Wyoming Highway Patrol Col. John Butler said. “While passing that vehicle, you are allowed to exceed the posted speed limit only up to 10 mph, and then you are required to return to your lane of travel as soon as practicable.”

The law is meant to address traffic congestion occurring at times on some two-lane highways in the state, and provide a mechanism to get around slow-moving vehicles safely.

“The law does not allow you to do this

without doing it safely, and that is our message to drivers,” Butler said. “Even though this law allows you to exceed the speed limit to pass, you still can’t do that unless you are doing so safely.”

The law likely will require some officer discretion to enforce, particularly because it only applies when the vehicle being passed is driving at below the posted speed limit.

“That’s where the challenge will be and that’s where officer discretion is going to come in,” Butler said. “Often times there is error in speedometers. So you may think that you’re traveling under the speed limit and you’re unaware that your speedometer may be off. That’s where we need to have that conversation roadside, about, if the vehicle you’re passing is go-ing 65 mph, it doesn’t allow you to pass.”

If the vehicle being passed is going under the speed limit, but the passing vehicle exceeds the limit by more than 10 mph, the passing driver can be cited for exceeding the posted limit.

“The big factor here is safety,” Butler said. “Just because we have a law in place now that allows you to exceed the speed limit to pass a vehicle not traveling at the speed limit, does not mean that you just go out and do so without due regard for the safety of the roadway. It’s even more critical now that you really pay attention to what’s going on.”

Transportation commis-sion awards $17 million in contracts

Contracts totaling nearly $17.8 million for 11 highway projects around the state were awarded by the Wyoming Trans-portation Commission during its July teleconference meeting.

Worland’s McGarvin-Moberly Con-struction won the largest of the contracts with a low bid of $5 million for a pave-ment overlay and chip seal to preserve the pavement on 19 miles of WYO 431 west of Worland. The contract carries a completion date of Sept. 30, 2013.

McGarvin-Moberly also won a $2.9 million contract for a pavement overlay on nine miles of WYO 487 about nine

miles north of Medicine Bow, and a $1.2 million contract for a pavement overlay on 2.5 miles of US 20 about three miles south of Thermopolis. Both projects will include a chip seal next year and have a completion date of Sept. 30, 2013.

Diamond Surface Inc. of Rogers, Minn., submitted the low bid of $2.3 mil-lion for grinding some concrete slabs and replacing others on a 26.5-mile section of I-80 between Cheyenne and Pine Bluffs.

The slabs are settling at different rates cre-ating rough transitions from one slab to the next. Grinding will be used to smooth the joints between the slabs where pos-sible, and in a few cases the slabs will have to be replaced. The contract completion date is Sept. 30, 2013.

Evans Construction of Jackson sub-mitted the low bid of $2.2 million for pavement overlays on sections of US 16-89-191 totaling 3.6 miles in Teton County. The work is scheduled to be done by Sept. 1, 2013.

Cheyenne’s Simon Contractors won a $2 million contract for a pavement overlay and bridge deck repair on nine miles of US 14-16 about 13 miles north of Gillette by Sept. 30, 2013.

HK Contractors of Idaho Falls submit-ted the low bid of $1.8 million for a pave-ment overlay on a four miles of US 30 im-mediately west of Kemmerer to preserve the pavement on a highway section that carries heavy truck traffic. The contract completion date is Oct. 31, 2013.

Other contracts awarded by the com-mission during the July meeting were:

$142,000 to Habitat Construction of Rocky Ford, Colo., to build a concrete bi-cycle and pedestrian path along WYO 321 between the Chugwater Rest Area and Clay Avenue in Chugwater by Oct. 31;

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Drivers may exceed the speed limit by up to 10 mph to pass another vehicle traveling under the speed limit.

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The installation of sign posts along WYO 220 in Natrona County.

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$116,000 to Mountain Valley Hydro-seed of Grand Junction, Colo., for erosion control work along WYO 89 north of Evanston where the Bear River is eroding its banks toward the highway, by Oct. 31;

$45,000 to Flare Construction of Coalville, Utah, for erosion control and fence replacement along WYO 414 about five miles southeast of Mountainview by Oct. 31; and

$14,000 to ERI Engineering of River-ton for repairs to a box culvert on I-25 south of Kaycee by Oct. 31.

Permanent realignment begins on WYO 70

Work is under way to build a new, permanent roadway realignment to cir-cumvent a slide that destroyed a section of WYO 70 between Baggs and Riverside in south-central Wyoming. The damage, which was discovered by a snowmobiler on May 30, 2011, is 600 feet long and located just west of the overlook at mile post 30.

A temporary detour around the slide was completed in mid-July last year. It has served traffic through the area since then, except for the period last winter when the alpine roadway was closed for the season.

The new roadway realignment will be constructed several hundred feet up the hill above the slide, as recommended by WYDOT geologists due to better ground stability. Final dirt grade and place-ment of crushed base is scheduled to be completed this year by Oct. 31. Traffic may be shifted onto the new road at that time, depending on the weather. The new road will be paved and complet-ed next year during construction season.

Until the new road realignment is ready for traffic, travelers will continue to be routed through the detour. It is a single-lane dirt road with a gravel surface that operates as one-way alternating traffic. Restrictions through the detour section are 30,000 pounds gross vehicle weight and under. A ten foot width maxi-mum is being enforced and long loads are discouraged.

The one mile section of new roadway will cost $2.8 million. The contractor is High Country Construction out of Lander and the work is federally funded.

Campaign signage forbid-den in the state roadway rights of way

WYDOT reminds event planners, real estate agents, and political candidates and their supporters that advertising placards are generally forbidden in the state road-way rights of way.

The signs pose a danger for motorists, both by restricting sight lines and creating potential collision hazards.

With local elections on the horizon, WYDOT maintenance crews are remov-ing an increasing number of signs from the right-of-way fence or from within the right of way itself. The signs are being picked up and taken to the area WYDOT maintenance office. The owner of the sign or signs has two weeks to claim them. If unclaimed, they are disposed of.

Wyoming Statute 22-25-115 states that campaign advertising may only be placed

in the state’s right of way within a munici-pality, and then only if the municipality has passed an ordinance allowing such placement. Therefore, it is recommended that people check local ordinances before installing hazardous signs.

Wyoming Statute 24-10-104 states that outdoor (non-campaign) advertising must meet certain conditions for place-ment. One of those conditions refers to the placement of signs advertising the sale or lease of the property upon which they are located.

Repair work slated for Evanston Streets

WYDOT will be conducting concrete repairs at various locations throughout Evanston into the summer.

The project will total nine different locations, includ-ing the two major intersections of Bear River Drive and WYO 89, and 6th Street and Front Street.

“Most of the lo-cations will include single lane closures and will involve minimal delays,” Project Engineer Emiliano Martinez said.

The project will begin near the Har-rison Drive exit and will include curb and gutter work, as well as sidewalk replace-ments and ramps to comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act.

The project will then move on to US 89 North near the cemetery and continue throughout locations on Bear River Drive and Front Street.

Traffic will be restricted to one lane, both north and south, so northbound traffic turning left onto Bear River Drive will find delays, so any available alterna-tive routes are encouraged and recom-mended.

The work is being done by American Contracting of Fort Collins, Colo. The project should wrap up by summer’s end on Sept. 30.

A slide caused the roadway to washout on WYO 70. The current road condition was found by a snowmobiler in 2011.

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Signs can be found at nearly every intersec-tion, but according to state statutes, campaign signs are generally forbidden, while real estate and advertising must meet certain criteria.

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“What’s that got to do with the price of potatoes in Russia?”

That was a favor-ite response of my dad’s throughout my childhood.

As in:“Hey Dad, I was

thinking maybe you could pay me for mowing the lawn.”

“Oh? Why’s that?”“Well, Rowdy’s dad pays him five

bucks to mow their lawn.”“What’s that got to do with the price of

potatoes in Russia?”So, when a fellow WYDOT employee

asks me why he can’t get a raise, but I can do all this seat-belt advertising during the University of Wyoming football games the first thing to come to mind is: What’s that got to do with the price of potatoes in Russia?

I guess I can see why you’d ask such a question, but those two issues are totally unrelated. State em-ployee pay is determined by the Legislature. Seat-belt ads during UW football games, or any other highway safety advertising, are paid for with federal grant funds. We can’t take federal highway safety advertising dollars and give them to WYDOT employ-ees as compensation. And, in case you were wondering, those grant funds can’t be used on the roads either.

The grant funds are for educating and informing the public on safety issues like impaired driving, occupant restraint (seat-belts) and distracted driving, and the state benefits greatly from the funds.

When you see the message at War Memorial Stadium it’s because we pur-chased an advertising package from the university and those funds go to support the school. That can help keep other costs down for students and fans.

What you may not see are the many other efforts we engage in around the state. For example, at Central High School here in Cheyenne we have lots of safety

messaging around the school, but one of my favorites has been with the baking program.

My daughter was in the baking class a few years back. She mentioned to me that the class was in need of new equip-ment to remain viable, but they didn’t have the money. I contacted her teacher to see how I could help as a parent. As we talked about the class, I learned that the baked goods produced by the class are sold to the student body. They sell about a thousand items a month. I saw a great op-portunity. We used a safety grant to buy an advertising package from Central in which each one of those thousand baked goods went out with a seat belt message stuck on the wrapper. That’s a thousand safety messages right in the kids’ hands every month. You just can’t beat that kind of exposure. And the baking program got

the funds they need-ed to buy equipment to keep the program going. How can you not love it? Federal highway safety funds save a baking pro-gram in a Wyoming high school.

With the assis-tance of the district public involvement specialists, we’re putting grant funds to work at UW, the community colleges, the high schools, junior highs and

elementary schools.Kids all over our state are exposed

to important safety messages and your schools receive funding to help with needs in your communities. That’s an easy win-win situation.

We don’t stop at the schools either. We’ve got highway safety banners on soccer, baseball and lacrosse fields; at swimming pools, basketball courts and rodeo arenas. We even have banners up at a bike polo tournament and roller derby matches.

When we buy that kind of advertising two things happen to help the state. First, important safety messages are presented to our target audiences. Hopefully those

messages will help our residents make wise decisions about buckling up, focus-ing on driving and using a designated driver.

Secondly, at a time when funding for some extracurricular programs is scarce, we’re able to put federal dollars to work for you and your kids. Maybe that means you don’t have to sell cookies or choco-lates to raise money for the team this year. Maybe a valuable program that would have gone under gets another summer in the sun.

Again, these funds can’t be put on our roads and they can’t go towards your pay-check, so why not put them to work for Wyoming residents in a productive way that may help save lives?

I still don’t know what a potato costs in downtown Minsk, but I know enough to take advantage of a good deal when it comes my way and highway safety adver-tising is a good deal for all of us.

Thanks for reading,Doug McGeePublic Affairs Officer

Commentary

Doug McGee

Total number of employees:

as of June 29, 2012

2,058One month ago

2,056One year ago

2,061


When you work for an organization like WYDOT, it’s like becoming part of a large family. We

care for our own. We want to make sure that we all succeed — in good times and in bad. We may have donated our sick time to a fellow worker, or we may have been that worker who needed the

donated sick time. It feels good to be part of an organization that cares.

A case in point: Amber Schlabs, air service and marketing manager with Aeronautics, was critically injured earlier this summer. Her medical costs have soared due to extended hospitalization.

A benefit barbecue for Schlabs quickly took shape

at WYDOT Headquarters thanks to the quick thinking of Jennie Green of Geology and Heidi Bosch of Construction. Green is a long-time friend of Schlabs, and in talking with Bosch, another of Schlab’s friends, knew they needed to do something to help the Schlabs’ family out with the medical bills. “I had done a ton of fun-draising and could help get volunteers lined up,” says Bosch. The two brainstormed fundraising opportunities that would have the most impact. The annual Headquarters MS150 barbecue typically has a great turnout, and they decided a similar event would be the best route to benefit “Team Amber.”

They spoke with the Highway Café staff to see if they would be on-board with the cause.

The barbecue became the fund raiser of choice and the two women ran with it. Volunteers were needed and soon. Some volunteers had to be turned away due to the numbers who had signed up. It seemed that everyone wanted to help out.

Food was ordered and prepared, the grill was lit, the line formed — success! In two short hours, the barbecue fed ham-burgers, hot dogs, macaroni salad, chips, cookies and drinks to 333 people and raised nearly $5,000. WYDOT showed up in great numbers, as well as friends and families of employees. “What a great turnout,” said Jerry Schlabs, brother-in-law to Am-ber. “We sure appreciate everything that everybody is doing.”

Green and Bosch are looking forward to the next fundraising event for “Team Amber.” When asked about a sequel to the wildly popular barbecue, Bosch responded, “We have been discussing doing something down the road. Maybe a little bit different.”

Before moving forward, the two women wish to extend their heartfelt thanks to all who vol-unteered to help out behind the scenes, at the event and a special thank you to all who came to show their support for Amber.

Schlabs’ injuries were a result of a June 9 boating accident. She and her husband, James, were enjoying a day at Glendo Reservoir on their WaveRunner. Both were on the watercraft heading back to their camp when they were struck by a much larger boat. James suffered broken ribs, while Amber sustained severe in-ternal injuries, including injuries to her spinal cord. Schlabs is currently at Craig Rehabilita-tion Hospital in Denver where she is making progress everyday.

For more information on Amber’s progress go to: www.caringbridge.org/visit/Amber-schlabs#, or to donate: Team Amber Special Needs Trust, c/o Lathrop &; Rutledge, P.C. P.O. Box 4068 Cheyenne, WY 82003.

- Carlie Van Winkle

(Top images) A team effort went into planning the benefit for Amber Schlabs. Volunteers set up tables, prepared food, manned food tables, sold “Team Amber” shirts, bracelets, and raffle tickets. (Above) Michelle Ornelas-Nemeth, Jennie Green and Jamie Spezzano sell “Team Amber” gear to help offset medical costs.

Amber Schlabs


Wyoming Highway Patrol troopers are a special breed. They are set apart from the rest because of their commitment to their profession. They are willing to serve the people of Wyoming with honesty and integrity.

On June 28, the WHP graduated it’s 83rd class of recruits. The seven graduates were commissioned at the Supreme Court Building in Cheyenne after 13 weeks of Wyoming Highway Patrol Academy classes. These academy classes consist of constitutional law, traffic law, crash inves-tigation, motor carrier enforcement and officer safety training just to name a few. Those recruits who were not previously law enforcement officers were required to take 13 weeks of additional training prior to attending the WHP Academy classes.

The Wyoming Highway Patrol’s newest troopers follow.

Trooper Landon Call, Pinedale, badge number 150, was born and raised in Wyoming, and gradu-ated from Star Valley High School. He began his career in law en-forcement with the Sublette County

Sheriff ’s Office, where he was part of a K-9 unit. After seven years of service he followed his desire to join the Wyoming Highway Patrol. Landon has been happily married to Michele for seven years. They have a 6-year-old son and a 3-year-old daughter. Landon enjoys time with his family, camping, snowmobiling, fishing, four wheeling, and traveling. Landon is grateful and honored to be a Wyoming State Trooper.

Trooper Randy Davis, Worland, badge number 224, is originally from Oklahoma, but has lived in several states, and has called Wyoming home for six years. Randy has been married to Regena for 19 years and they have a son, Zach, who is in the Army and a daughter, Schuylar, who will be attending North-west College in Powell. Randy began his Law Enforcement career with the Lovell Police Department and served as the S.R.O. and D.A.R.E. officer, and was nominated and awarded the S.R.O. of

the Year for Wyoming in 2011. Randy is looking forward to this next step in his law enforcement career with the WHP and starting at his new post in Worland. In his spare time Randy works at his family’s hardware and lumber business in Lovell, and tries to stay involved with his community.

Trooper Andrew Frye, Rock Springs, badge number 105, is originally from Wisconsin. He got his college degree from the University of Wiscon-sin – River Falls. He moved to St. Paul, Minn. and worked at an internet service provider for the past few years prior to becoming a member of the Wyoming Highway Patrol. He and his wife, Elizabeth, are excited to leave the Twin Cities and move to Wyo-ming, where they’ve often vacationed, and make “Out West” their new home.

Trooper Clint Haver, Casper, badge number 170, was born and raised in Southern California and moved to Wyo-

Patrol’s 83rd ClassPatrol’s 83rd ClassPatrol’s 83rd Class


ming in 2009. He has been married to his wife, Shana, for seven years and they have two daughters, ages 5 and 2. Clint graduated from LIFE Pacific

College in San Dimas, Calif. with a degree in Biblical Studies. Before joining the Wyoming Highway Patrol, Clint served as a youth pastor and associate pastor for several churches. He enjoys spending time with family and friends as well as exercising and playing recreational sports.

Trooper Derek Parks, Kemmerer, badge number 222, is originally from Utah. Derek attended college at Utah Valley State Col-lege, where he received

a bachelor’s degree in Aviation Science. After working as a flight instructor for a couple years he moved to South Dakota, where he worked as a charter pilot. He has been happily married to Sharri for seven years and they have two children. They are excited about making Wyoming their new home. Derek enjoys spending time with family, flying and the outdoors.

Trooper Brian Sinner, Torrington, badge number 168, is originally from Yoder. He received a Bachelor of Science Degree in kinesiology and health promotion from the Univer-sity of Wyoming. Brian has been married to Kendra for seven years, and they have two daughters. He is excited to be living back in Goshen County after freezing in Laramie for most of the last 11 years. Brian enjoys resistance training, reading exercise science literature, and most of all spending time with his girls.

Trooper Roger Veach, Shoshoni, badge number 167, was raised in Lander, and gradu-ated from Lander Valley High School in 1981. Rog-er joined the U.S. Air Force after graduating, to become an airframe repair spe-cialist. He returned to Wyoming in 1986. Roger looks forward to joining the Wyoming Highway Patrol after serving nearly 16 years with the Fremont County Sheriff ’s Office, during his time with the Sheriff ’s Office Roger was a communications deputy, detention deputy, patrol deputy, DCI Task Force officer, Fremont County drug investiga-tor, and then detective sergeant. Roger is happily married to Laura. They have three children, Tyson, Tara, and Brooke, and currently live near Riverton. Roger enjoys spending time with Laura, family and friends, hunting, fishing, camping, archery, shooting and just being outdoors.

Patrol’s 83rd ClassPatrol’s 83rd ClassPatrol’s 83rd Class


Monitoring the implementation of the new federal transportation funding bill will be one of Director John Cox’s top pri-orities as the new president of the Western Association of State Highway and Trans-portation Officials.

Cox was elected president of the 18-state organization during is annual meeting in Colorado Springs last month. He had served as vice president during the preceding year. Management Services Manager John Davis was elected WASH-TO secretary. Their terms will run through the next annual meeting in July 2013.

The Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century (MAP-21) funding bill approved by Congress and signed by Presi-dent Obama in July essentially maintains federal highway funding at previous levels for the next 27 months, but the process of interpreting and implementing the new bill is expected to take about a year.

“From my perspective, the priority there will be just to make sure that western states’ needs and priorities are in the conversation as the implementation moves forward,” Cox said. “There are some per-formance measures that are going to come as part of MAP-21 and we’ll be involved in that discussion. The smaller western bridge states all have some concerns about those.”

The implementation of the new bill is of particular importance because it is expected to serve as the foundation for the next long-term federal transportation bill.

“So that process will involve figur-ing out what in the bill makes sense and moving forward with it, and also trying to identify those things in MAP-21 that might be better changed in the following legislation,” Cox said.

Another of his priorities will be the effort to choose a replacement for John Horsley, the executive director of the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials, who is retir-ing next year after 14 years in the position.

WASHTO is one of the four regional groups that make up AASHTO, and find-ing the right successor for Horsley is im-portant because of the high level of service Horsley has provided.

“He has done a really good job of being responsive to individual states, small and

large, over the years in a very tough posi-tion,” Cox said.

The 18 western states that make up WASHTO range from California, the nation’s most populous state with four of the nation’s 13 biggest cities, to Wyoming, the least populous state with no real urban areas.

But Cox said there are some univer-sal concerns shared by all the states: the long-term federal funding outlook, state transportation funding and relationships with local governments.

“The federal funding picture is by no means settled,” Cox said. “MAP-21 is a Band-Aid to get us through the next little over two years. After that the Highway Trust Fund is again in trouble and there are really no answers right now on what the fix is going to look like. What Congress has been able to do is push out ahead the challenges that nobody had any answers for.”

Levels of state transportation funding vary widely among the western states, but even the best funded still share the chal-lenge of getting enough state funding to maintain and support their transportation systems, he said.

The relationships between state transportation departments and local governments are expected to change under MAP-21.

“Although we don’t know all the details yet in MAP-21, there were a large num-ber of federal programs that were made considerably smaller in this current bill,” Cox said. “Among those are programs that were of direct benefit to some of the

local governments. That doesn’t mean they aren’t eligible anymore, but they aren’t spe-cifically named, so this is going to ramp up the conversation between the local govern-ments and the state DOTs in every state.”

The paring down of the number of pro-grams in MAP-21 compared to the preced-ing bill is intended to direct more funding to the core highway program. It probably will succeed in doing that, Cox said, but the need and demand for funding for local transportation priorities still exists.

MAP-21 contains no earmarked fund-ing for specific projects, a big change from the previous transportation funding bill passed in 2005 with thousands of ear-marks.

“I think the fact that there were no earmarks really paved the way for this short-term bill to be written, because each of the earmarks in the past bill took away from the core funding,” Cox said. “In the absence of a real clear long-term funding stream, they were able to get a two-year bill by really refining what their priorities were. Whether or not that will stand the test of time into the next transportation bill is anybody’s guess.”

The work needed to implement the new funding bill is an example of a message WYDOT has been emphasizing for years.

“Federal transportation funding is not a block grant that comes to the DOT,” Cox said. “It’s far more complicated. There defi-nitely are constraints on how the money can be used.”

– Dave Kingham

WASHTO’s New President

The distinctive gavel Director John Cox will use as WASHTO president originated with WYDOT Director Sleeter Dover in 2003, when he was serving as presi-dent of the 18-state association. Because there was no gavel for the president, Dover got a rock from the banks of the Snake River to use. His successor as president, Texas DOT Director Mike Behrens, had the rock cored into the stan-dard gavel shape and added a wooden handle. Each successive director has added something new to the gavel, ranging from a carrying case to a granite sound block to strike with the gavel.


More than 1,500 competitors from 43 states and three different countries. Two performances a day in front of packed are-nas. One full week of elite rodeo competi-tion. Could it be an ideal opportunity for an extreme activist to hurt someone, or the perfect occasion for a terrorist to disrupt the world’s largest rodeo with a possible explosion?

Not on Trooper Joey Scimone and Lilli’s watch.

Scimone and Lilli are part of the Wyoming Highway Patrol’s Explosive Detection K-9 Unit that patrolled the Na-tional High School Finals Rodeo in Rock Springs. Lilli has been trained to sniff out explosives and alert Scimone of their location.

The Sweetwater County Emergency Task Force formed for the National High School Finals Rodeo event was not willing to take any chances with the safety of the rodeo contestants, volunteers and specta-tors. So they called in some back up.

The task force, made up of local agen-cies and led by the Sweetwater County Sheriff ’s Office, requested the local bomb squad (made up of officers from both Green River and Rock Springs police departments), Scimone and Lilli to be on patrol at the rodeo event.

“We want to do our best to keep the people attending this event safe,” Scimone

said. Scimone and Lilli have swept the

grandstands of the rodeo arena and poked around both high-volume areas and more remote locations. No place escaped Lilli’s nose.

Scimone said that, although there is much work for him and Lilli to do, he has loved working with Sweetwater County and the local police departments.

“This is the best place to come out and work. The other agencies have been great,” Scimone said.

He has been a part of the force for eight years, and has been with Lilli since 2007, when the Wyoming Highway Patrol added the unit to their task force. Scimone and Lilli have formed a bond based on respect and work ethic that permeates the job they do.

“There has to be a respect that is estab-lished with the dog for the unit to work. When we go to work, she knows it’s time to do her job,” Scimone said.

Haven’t heard of any explosions or bomb detonations lately? Trooper Scimone says that is because the K-9 Units are do-ing their jobs right.

“Just being visible is a major deterrent to most would-be criminals,” Scimone said. “Much of our job is preventative. The fact that we are prepared thwarts many possible threats.”

Explosive detection K-9s like Lilli are trained to find explosive devices when there is no inclination of their location. The dogs also have the capability to locate explosives in buildings, cars or other ob-stacles. Lilli and other explosive detection K-9s also have a “sniffer vocabulary” of up to 12 different odors.

Scimone and Lilli are both nationally recognized and certified by the federal government. Lilli received her training at the Vom Kaiserhofe Training Center and she and Scimone are certified by the Fed-eral Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives National Response Team.

Lilli and Scimone are just one K-9 unit of five that are stationed Wyoming in dif-ferent agencies.

The canines can be deployed anywhere in the state, 24 hours a day, seven days a week, via request. Requests can be made by calling (307) 777-4900 or by calling Highway Patrol Dispatch and asking for the Wyoming Office of Homeland Security duty officer.

– Stephanie Harsha

It’s Not Their First

Rodeo

Trooper Joey Scimone and Lilli sweeping the rodeo grandstands for any suspicious explosive devices.

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A nine-mile section of US 30 in far western Wyoming is being renewed this summer by “whitetopping,” a process of refreshing a road surface by using concrete to overlay an existing asphalt pavement. The project area is located be-tween Cokeville and the Idaho state line in Lincoln County.

Although whitetopping has been un-dertaken in other states, the current proj-ect represents the first time the process is being used on a section of rural, non-interstate highway in Wyoming. The work consists of milling the asphalt surface down by 3.5 inches, sealing any cracks visible in the remaining asphalt, then placing the concrete overlay. The entire 40-foot width of the road, encompassing travel lanes and shoulders, are receiving the overlay. The initial 2.25-mile strip of concrete was placed last month, and the project should be substantially complete before the end of September.

The concrete pavement, at six inches in depth, is thinner than a more tradi-tional concrete pavement, which more typically is 11 to 12 inches deep for routes with high truck volumes. For the thinner concrete, the spacing of joints cut into the concrete to control cracking is reduced; in this case every six feet (transverse and longitudinal) in the driving lanes and a four-by-six foot pattern on the shoulders.

This type of whitetopping is con-sidered to be a “bonded overlay.” After milling, the remaining layer of asphalt has a rough surface which promotes better adhesion to the new, overlying concrete slab. The new composite asphalt-concrete section forms a homogenous pavement that has the necessary structural capacity to handle the anticipated traffic load.

US 30 connects southeastern Idaho to Interstate 80 at Granger Junction via Kemmerer, and carries a relatively large amount of heavy truck traffic – exceeding

50 percent of the total vehicle count at times. One consequence is the tendency for the asphaltic pavement to develop an undue amount of rutting. Another problem has been pavement “stripping,” whereby the asphalt begins to ravel and form ruts prematurely mainly because of characteristics of the locally available aggregate used in the bituminous mix. Placing the new concrete pavement will resolve the rutting and pavement strip-ping problem.

“It’s possible that if we just put the standard two-inch asphalt overlay on this section of US 30, we might see rut-ting starting again in as little as two or three years,” said Bob Rothwell, assistant state materials engineer for WYDOT. “With whitetopping, we’ve increased the up-front cost compared to an asphalt overlay, but those costs are substantially less than if we had rebuilt the road as new construction with a thicker concrete sec-tion on an aggregate base. But over time, we hope to recoup these initial costs by reducing future maintenance costs and reaping the benefit of a longer service life for the roadway.”

The project was the subject of a open house and tour for engineers, technicians, concrete industry representatives and other stakeholders on July 19. Attendees, who represented at least 12 other state DOTs, assembled in Kemmerer and trav-eled by bus to the project north of Cokev-

ille. The event included presentations on the design of the US 30 project and details about the concrete overlay process, as well as an opportunity to view the initial phases of actual whitetopping work.

WYDOT co-sponsored the open house and tour in cooperation with the Federal Highway Administration, as well as concrete industry interest groups.

– Bruce Burrows

WHITETOPPINGWHITETOPPING

Bridger - Teton Nat’l. Forest

Cokeville

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The whitetopping project on US 30 hosted an open house and tour for engineers, technicians, concrete industry representatives and other stakeholders on July 19.

(left) Joe Schwartz, Concrete Works of Colorado, and John Eddins, district engineer WYDOT.


Lt. Col. John Butler of Cheyenne was formally installed as administrator and commanding officer of the Wyoming Highway Patrol (WHP) during a pinning ceremony conducted June 22 at WYDOT Headquarters.

Butler, a 27-year Highway Patrol vet-eran, now holds the rank of colonel, and is only the 12th person to head the Patrol since its formation in 1933.

“John’s leadership has been of proven quality, and he brings a focused, progres-sive mind-set to his new assignment. He steps into his service as the Patrol’s com-manding officer with my unreserved sup-port and confidence,” WYDOT Director John Cox said in announcing Butler’s promotion.

Butler replaced Col. Jess Oyler, who retired at end of 2011. Butler had served

as interim Patrol administrator since Oyler’s retirement.

“I am extremely humbled and proud to be appointed the next commanding officer of the Wyoming Highway Patrol, which has a long-standing tradition of professionalism, and I will continue to demand this of myself and each member,” Butler said.

He added that the Patrol will remain committed to highway safety, using education and enforcement to accomplish that goal, and continue its effort to inter-dict drug trafficking and other criminal activity which occurs on or along the state’s highways.

“Our partnerships with other law enforcement agencies and safety-minded groups will provide the additional re-sources necessary for continued success,” he said.

Butler, who was born in Douglas, is a 1978 graduate of Sheridan High School, and he subsequently attended the Univer-sity of Wyoming.

He joined the Highway Patrol as a recruit patrolman in 1985 and was ini-tially posted in Lander. In 1998, he was promoted to supervise Division A based in Cheyenne. In 2003, Butler was pro-moted again, to captain, assuming duties

as commander of WHP Dis-trict 1, which encompasses Albany, Lara-mie and Car-bon counties. In 2003, he was elevated to major, and placed in charge of field operations for the entire state. He had held the rank of lieutenant colonel and has been second-in-com-mand of the Patrol since July 2010.

Butler’s appointment was preceded by an applicant screening and interview pro-cess, in which Cox and other members of the WYDOT executive staff were assisted by Sheila Foertsch, executive director of the Wyoming Trucking Association, and Cactus Covello, a member (and former chair) of the Wyoming Transportation Commission. The process also included in-depth consultations with Gov. Matt Mead and his staff.

– Bruce Burrows

Leadership

Inte

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Moving Forward

Newly commissioned Trooper John Butler, December 1985.

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“When he works with others he wins their respect and confidence

and he is certainly one of our own. The future of WHP leadership and those who serve alongside him is in good hands,” said Director John

Cox at Butler’s pinning ceremony.


Date Class LocationAug 6-10 New Employee Orientation (NEO) CheyenneAug 6 The Fun of Thinking and Acting Like a Leader CheyenneAug 7 Change for Good! Breaking a Bad Habit CheyenneAug 14 Dealing with Difficult People TLNAug 15 Problem Solving and Decision Making TLN

Coming Up in September:Sept 4 Successful Time Management CheyenneSept 5 Laughing Your Way Through Stress Cheyenne

To register, or to find out more details, call the Training Program and talk to David Talley (777-4792),

Jim Boyd (777-4791) or Rhonda DeLeeuw (777-4790).

When you call, ask about the videos, books and audiotapes available from the Training Resource Library.

Glanceat aTraining

Here are upcoming training opportunities from WYDOT University and the

Transportation Learning Network (TLN)

Extra MileAWARDS

Congratulations to our June recipients!

WYDOT salutes the following Director’s Extra Mile Award recipients. The award is presented to individuals who have traveled the “extra mile” in service to WYDOT.

Mark McCracken

Zach Gutierrez

Ryan Shields

Jody Brewer

For more information about the Extra Mile Award or to nominate someone, contact Janet Farrar at [email protected] or

Mel Anderson at [email protected].

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WHP promotes RatliffShannon Ratliff of Cheyenne was re-

cently promoted to lieutenant colonel and has assumed duties as second-in-com-mand of the Wyoming Highway Patrol.

Ratliff, a 21-year Patrol veteran, was named as the new operations commander in July. He replaced Col. John Butler, who recently was promoted to patrol admin-istrator.

“I am confident Shannon brings with him the leadership and commitment necessary to ensure continued success for the Highway Patrol and its members,” Col. Butler said.

Ratliff ’s promotion was effective Aug. 1, and an official pinning ceremony is scheduled for later in the month.

He joined the Patrol as a recruit patrol-man in 1991 and was initially posted with Division J based in Laramie. Ratliff transferred to Motor Carrier in 1999 and two years later, moved to Cheyenne. He was promoted to Division A supervi-sor in Cheyenne in 2003, and five years later, was elevated to the rank of captain in charge of the Motor Carrier Section at headquarters. He had held the rank of major, with duties as field commander, since 2010.

Ratliff, who was born in Muskegon, Mich., has been a Wyoming resident since 1976. He is a graduate of Lander Valley High School, and he has earned an associate degree in law enforcement from Casper College and studied admin-istration of justice at the University of Wyoming.

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AASHTO recognizes LairdTony Laird, WYDOT’s highway

development engineer at headquarters, was recently recognized by the Ameri-can Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) for his contributions to it’s Subcommittee on Design (SCOD).

Laird, received the SCOD’s National Award, which recognizes outstanding service and an exceptional contribution to the subcommittee through qualifying achievements based on AASHTO-related work.

“Tony has provided both WYDOT and AASHTO SCOD with years of outstand-ing service and achievements in the field of highway and transportation design and is most deserving of this award,” Assistant Chief Engineer for Engineering and Planning Gregg Fredrick said.

Laird, a native of Iowa, first worked for WYDOT in 1982 as a summer hire in Laramie while still a student at the University of Wyoming. The next year, after completing his bachelor’s degree in civil engineering from UW, he rejoined the agency on a permanent basis as an engineer in Rock Springs.

Laird subsequently moved to Chey-enne, where he has held a variety of positions, including squad leader in both Project Development and Traffic Design, resident engineer, construction staff en-gineer, engineering services engineer and project development engineer. He was promoted to his current position in 2010.

“Laird lends his experience and ex-pertise in numerous areas of transporta-

tion engineering to his position as voting member of SCOD. He and the rest of the subcommittee make decisions and vote in the interest of the general public and the transportation engineering profession, by weighing the effects that a particular issue will have on the safety of the traveling public, the efficiency of traffic operations, bicyclists and pedestrians and on poten-tial environmental and social effects,” ac-cording to narrative which accompanied the award.

Laird has served on the AASHTO Region 4 Subcommittee for more than 10 years and has been a voting member for the past two years. Laird also serves on the AASHTO SCOD Technical Commit-tee for Non-motorized Transportation.

Tony Laird receives his award from Gregg Fredrick, assistant chief engineer (left), and the Project Development team gathered for the presentation.

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Bonds promoted within Materials Program

Vicki Bonds of the Materials Program at headquarters was promoted in mid-June to assistant state materials engineer, filling the vacancy which resulted when Tim Babbitt retired this spring.

Bonds, a native of Glasgow, Mont., is a graduate of Sheridan High School. She has been with WYDOT since the beginning of 1991, shortly after

completing her Bachelor of Science in civil engineering from the University of Wyoming.

Bonds now manages pavement design and materials specifications for the west half of the state which includes Field Districts 3 and 5, as well as Albany and Carbon counties.

Meanwhile, Bob Rothwell, who previously was respon-sible for the west half of the state, now manages pavement design and materials for the east half of the state which includes Field Districts 2 and 4, and Laramie County. Rothwell is also responsible for pavement management.

Noteworthy

Vicki Bonds

Buzzed DrivingIS

Drunk Driving

Always use a designated driver.Always use a designated driver.

HIGHWAY SAFETYPROGRAM

WYOMINGHIGHWAY PATROL


Bitter Creek Rest Area will open after repairs

WYDOT has awarded Electrical Con-nections, of Rock Springs, a contract to conduct various electrical repairs and replacements to the motors and pumps at the Bitter Creek Rest Area east of Rock Springs.

The westbound rest area has been closed since December 2011, due to electrical issues. Numerous attempts were made to keep the rest area open, but soon the sanitation and plumbing could no longer sustain use and the rest area was closed. The eastbound rest area has re-mained open sporadically, but only when WYDOT maintenance crews were able to patch and repair electrical problems. The eastbound rest area is also in need of re-pair and will be seeing some work as well.

“This is some much needed work. In the past, we have done our best to repair the situation. But, all we have been able to do is slap a Band-Aid on it,” WYDOT Building Supervisor Tyler Wille said. The work began on July 17, and will last approximately 45 days. The rest area should open again by the end of August.

Meadowlark Lake boat ramp closes to allow for wetland construction

The boat ramp at the northwest corner of Meadowlark Lake is closed to allow work crews to begin developing a one-acre wetland com-plex between Ten Sleep and Buffalo.

Construction of the wetland is part of the current $8.2 million highway improvement project on U.S. 16 east of Ten Sleep in Washakie County.

“Closure of the boat ramp will allow crews to work safely on mitigation of wetland impacts on the current County Line West project,” said Dan McAfee, Wyoming Department of Transportation resident engineer in Worland. “During this time, anglers and other people will

be forced to access the lake in other ways. We apologize for the inconvenience.”

Project work on the remainder of the County Line West project is progressing with dirt work under way, McAfee said. “Motorists should expect traffic delays of up to 15 minutes on U.S. 16 between the Washakie-Johnson county line and

Ten Sleep Creek. Vehicles are being led through the work zone with the use of pilot vehicles,” he said.

Project work is scheduled on 2.3 miles of U.S. 16 between mileposts 44.04 (the Johnson-Washakie county line) and mile-post 41.74 between Ten Sleep and Buffalo.

By contract, the contractor is required to provide unrestricted two-way traffic on U.S. 16 during Labor Day weekend (4 p.m. on Friday, Aug. 31, to 7 a.m. on the following Tuesday, Sept. 4).

Oftedal Construction Inc., of Casper, is the prime contractor on the County Line West project. The Wyoming Trans-portation Commission awarded the $8.21 million bid to Oftedal last December.

The contract with Oftedal carries a partial completion date of Oct. 31, 2012, for all work except the chip seal and reclamation. The project carries a final completion date of June 30, 2013.

The County Line West highway improvements are described as grading, draining, placing crushed gravel base, asphalt pavement surfacing, chip sealing the new asphalt, wetland construction, constructing a retaining wall, removal and replacement of box culverts, signing, guardrail installation, fencing and other work on 2.3 miles of U.S. 16 beginning at milepost 44.04.

Continued from page 5

The Meadowlark Lake boat ramp is scheduled to close to allow work crews to begin develop-ing a one-acre wetland complex between Ten Sleep and Buffalo.

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Director sets new recordDirector John Cox set a new Rocky

Mountain Senior Games record in win-ning the 10-kilometer cycling time trial in the 55-59 age group in June. He also won a bronze medal in the 20-kilometer road race at the games in Greeley, Colo.

Cox said he was happy with his record time of 13 minutes and 25 seconds for the 6.2-mile time trial. “It’s always nice to go into somebody else’s state and break a record,” he said, but the time is not particularly fast due to the nature of the racecourse.

The performance qualifies him to compete in the National Senior Games next year in Cleveland, but he’s uncertain if he’ll be able to go. He has qualified for three previous national games and one year had the fastest qualifying time, but his schedule has not allowed him to compete.

He does plan to race in the four cycling events at the Wyoming Senior Olympics Aug. 10-11 in Cheyenne.

In addition to the excitement of com-petition, Cox said he gets great fitness benefits from cycling.

“As somebody who was a distance runner for many years, I found that, when you get to a certain age, the cumulative miles that you’ve built up start to wear you down and you end up having knee and back problems,” he said. “Cycling doesn’t do that to you. It’s a strong fitness and muscle builder for your lower body and core, and really good for cardiovascu-lar fitness.”

Perhaps more importantly, it’s fun. “You can cover a lot of ground fast,” Cox said. “So for me, it’s a good addiction to have.”


District newsHeadquarters

District 1

WelcomeMervin Breazeale Jr., Cheyenne

Mechanics; Rami Ksaibati, Highway Development-Project Development-Lara-mie Design Squad; and Andrew Valdez, Highway Development-Project Develop-ment-Laramie Design Squad.

Service AwardsRamon Sandoval, Arlington Mainte-

nance – 10 years.

CongratulationsCongratulations to Jeffrey Heier, Raw-

lins Maintenance, on obtaining his water and wastewater operator licenses.

TransfersDuard Dilday transferred from

Cheyenne Mechanics to Maintenance, Joe Barnes transferred from Cheyenne Maintenance to Mechanics and Mike Cruickshank transferred to Rawlins Maintenance from District 2.

District 2

WelcomeGregory Summers, Traffic-Signing;

and Gregory McLeod, Torrington Main-tenance.

Service AwardsPatrick Busskohl,

Midwest Mainte-nance – 40 years;

Debra Shuler, Douglas/Wheatland Driver Services – 20 years;

Gary Kahler, Wheatland Mainte-nance – 15 years;

Thomas Eby, Midwest Maintenance – 5 years;

Douglas Hughes, Torrington Mechan-ics – 5 years.

RetirementsSteven Hinton, Casper Mechanics.

WelcomeElois Belving, IT Development; Diana

Gorman, Patrol; Troy Grandpre, High-way Development-Project Development; Matthew Groth, Public Affairs; and Trenton Rawlinson, ITS/GIS.

Service AwardsHarry Evanoff, Right of Way-Property

Management – 35 years;Gregory Goodman, Materials-Bitumi-

nous – 30 years;Debbie Smith, Highway Develop-

ment-Photogrammetry/Survey – 30 years;Basil Brookhouser, Materials-Surfac-

ing – 10 years;Clifford Neal, Materials-Bituminous

– 10 years;Kirsten Rigg, Internal Review – 10

years;Troy Berg, Telecom-WYOLINK – 5

years;Beth Hilleman, Fuel Tax-Uniformity

– 5 years;Melissa Moeller, Patrol Dispatch – 5

years.

RetirementsRichard Bolin Jr., Patrol Dispatch;

and Charles Carruthers, Patrol-Capitol Service Protection.

Cradle CallThe Public Affairs Office new addi-

tion, Matt Groth and wife, Christina, have a new addition of their own. They welcomed Zoe Kathryn Groth to their family on June 14. Zoe (6 pounds, 11 ounces) joins proud big sister Anna in the Groth household.

CondolencesWe extend our heartfelt condolences to

Pat Reibe from Facilities Management on the recent passing of his wife Cheri.

DON’T RISK IT CLICK IT O R TIC

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Steve Hinton and his wife, Dixie, with the cake presented to him at his retirement party June 29. Hinton retired after 30 years of service as mechanics supervisor in Casper.

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Little Zoe taking a swing at big sister Anna.

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WelcomeMandy Larson, Jackson Construction.

Service AwardsEdward Sabourin,

Pinedale Patrol Field – 25 years;

Donna Morss, Pinedale Construction – 20 years;

Frances Reed, Rock Springs Mainte-nance – 20 years;

Dighton Brazee, Kemmerer Mainte-nance – 15 years;

Mary Toone, Rock Springs Construction – 15 years;

George Ozga, Jr., Jackson Mechanics – 10 years;

Michael Jerup, Jackson Maintenance – 5 years;

Daniel Taylor, Evanston Mechanics – 5 years.

RetirementsAlbert Worley, Rock Springs Mainte-

nance.

District 3 District 4

WelcomeBrian Detavernier, Sheridan Port of

Entry; Nickolas Gliem, Reno Junction Maintenance; John Leahy, Newcastle Construction; Robert Leopold, Sheridan Port of Entry; and Will Raley, Sheridan Maintenance.

Service Awards Jerry Buckley, Sheridan Construction

– 20 years;Mark Townsend, Sheridan Mechanics

– 15 years.

RetirementsReed Bard, Gillette Construction;

Robert Inman, Sheridan Construction; Jacob Scherr, Gillette Maintenance; and Terry Wiechert, Sundance Maintenance.

District 5

WelcomeWade Elliott, Riverton Construction;

John Farr, Lander Maintenance; and Joseph Klein, Cody Maintenance.

Service Awards Davi Duran,

Riverton Construc-tion – 30 years;

Mathew Sanders, Lander Maintenance – 30 years;

Claudia Frederick, Basin Construction – 25 years;

Corliss Allison, District 5 Administra-tion – 5 years.

Cradle CallJake and Lyndsey Christian, South

Pass Maintenance, welcomed a baby girl into the world. Anna Nolene Christian was born on June 8 at 9:30 p.m. weighing in at 6 pounds, 5 ounces.

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Jake Scherr at his retirement party June 29 in Gillette. Jake retired with 33 years at WYDOT. A highlight of his career was when he rushed out into traffic to rescue a toddler.

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Jerry Buckley Mark Townsend

Bob Inman’s retirement smile is only going to get bigger as the days go by. Inman retires from Sheridan Construction with 32 years.

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District Engineer John Eddins congratulating Albert Worley on his retirement. Worley retires with 33 years at WYDOT.

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In the Community

Christina Spindler of Traffic, Director John Cox and John Mahoney of Aeronautics rode their way to personal glory on Superday Saturday.

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Superday foot race participants, Doug McGee of Public Affairs, Assistant Attorney General Jackson Engels, and Assistant Chief Engineer Gregg Fredrick.

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What a ‘Superday’ to be outdoors

Summer comes hand-in-hand with the Annual HollyFrontier Superday in Chey-enne–the 30th annual to be exact. The event, held on June 23, boasted 5K and 10K runs, the 19th annual Tour de Prairie road biking adventure, and other events and exhibits to entertain all ages.

WYDOT employees from many de-partments participated.

John Cox, John Mahoney and Chris-tina Spindler took part in the road biking adventure. “We left Lion’s Park at 6:30

a.m. heading for Happy Jack, and the summit rest area. It’s a tough ride up to the summit,” Spindler said. “The day of biking included a high speed chase. We don’t want to ruin the suspense with who was in the lead. You’ll have to ask us directly, and even then we might lie.”

Spindler from Traffic, and Mahoney of Aeronautics, rode a 30-mile circuit while Cox rode the 62-mile “metric century” course.

“We always have a great Superday, Tour de Prairie ride,” Mahoney said. “Riding 35-50 miles with a couple hun-dred different people, early on a sum-mer morning is a great experience. Plus, Christina is a good talker and I am a good listener, so that always works.”

Since the Tour de Prairie is divided into different course segments, partici-pants can ride as far (or not so far) as they are willing to go in a day. “The real finish time we were aiming for at Superday was to hit the Bunkhouse when it opened for some cold beverages, but we rode way too fast and they were still closed,” Spindler said. “John [Mahoney] and I rode the

shorter route at Superday because it al-lows us to get back in time to take our families to the activities at Lions Park.”

Foot race participants included Doug McGee, Jackson Engels and Gregg Fred-rick. Much training and preparation goes into a morning like this. The Superday foot race courses are centered at Lion’s Park. “It was a great day for a run and, as always, I saw lots of WYDOT co-workers at the race,” said McGee.

McGee was quite happy with his 5K finish time of 23:14, while Engels and Fredrick had great 10K runs with finish times of 46:11 and 50:38, respectively.

Laramie kids have a ‘bucket’ of fun at WYDOT shop

The WYDOT maintenance crew and Highway Patrol in Laramie hosted about 50 children on a tour of the facilities on

July 18.The kids and teachers from the Devel-

opmental Preschool and Daycare in town, were treated to a shop and equipment tour by District 1 Equipment Supervi-sor Gary Curry and heavy mechanic, Will Vegors, who helped organize the visit. Will’s wife, Jennifer, who teaches the children and their children Gabe and Kloie also attended. One highlight of the morning was Trooper Dave Wagner convincing teacher Danielle Kurtti of the importance of seat belts. Troopers Robert King and Chris Carrol graciously helped out on the annual event in the Gem City.

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The annual event had a great turnout on a bright July day. The big maintenance trucks and tractors and Highway Patrol vehicles captured the attention of the young crowd. The Convincer played an important part in showing the importance of seat belt use by taking their teacher for a ‘ride.’

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Don’t wait... September issue

submission deadline: August 17, 2012.

send to:[email protected]


W. N. “Neil” McMurryW. N. “Neil” McMurry, well-known

Wyoming road builder, entrepreneur and philanthropist, died July 19 in Casper. He was 88.

McMurry was born in Colorado, but resided nearly his entire life in Casper. After graduating from Natrona County High School in 1941, he served with the U.S. Army’s 385th bomb group during World War II. He went on to survive 29 missions over Europe (including two on D-Day) as a tail gunner, waist gunner and ball turret gunner on B-17 Flying Fortresses.

After the war ended, McMurry re-turned to Wyoming and soon began his career in the construction business. In 1948, he joined forces with Vern Rissler to establish Rissler & McMurry Co., which went on to become the largest highway contracting firm in the state. The firm continues on today as McMurry Ready Mix.

The growth of Rissler & McMurry coincided with the height of the inter-state highway construction, beginning in the late 1950s and continuing into early 1970s. A retrospective published in 2006 to mark the 50th anniversary of the Interstate highway system, stated “Neil McMurry has been synonymous with highway construction in Wyoming for more than six decades ... (as a partner in Rissler & McMurry) ... he moved more dirt, constructed more bridges and paved more miles of road than any other Wyo-ming contractor.”

His contributions to Wyoming’s highway system also brought accolades from the American Road and Transporta-

tion Builders Association, which in 2004 named McMurry as one of America’s “Top 100 Private Sector Transportation Design and Construction Professionals of the 20th Century.”

“I would be willing to venture that you couldn’t travel on a highway in Wyoming that at least part of it wasn’t built by Rissler & McMurry, at least initially,” his-torian Ann Chambers Noble was quoted in Casper Star-Tribune. Noble is the author of McMurry’s biography, “Hurry McMurry,” published in 2010.

“His biggest legacy is how he practiced business,” Noble added. “He was a highly ethical man. It was known that Neil Mc-Murry’s handshake was better than any written contract.”

“Neil McMurry was a gentleman and it was a privilege to work with him in his as-sociation with WYDOT. I am one among the many men and women who see him as a role model for integrity, grit and hard work, both in the private sector and in the department of transportation,” WYDOT Director John Cox said.

McMurry later expanded his busi-ness interests into oil and gas drilling and along with son Mick and another partner, was instrumental in developing the Jonah Field, a major natural gas producer in the Pinedale area.

Other business ventures included the McMurry Business Park in east Casper and the Swan Ranch Business Park south of Cheyenne. He was also a partner in the historic Warren Ranch in southeast Wyoming.

McMurry donated millions of dollars to a range of philanthropic causes, with a focus on helping “Wyoming citizens struggling with life,” according to his obituary. Beneficiaries include Casper

College’s Early Childhood Learning Cen-ter as well as a program that assists single parents with child care, tuition and other costs so they can attend classes.

“Neil McMurry has absolutely changed many, many lives through his support of the college,” Casper College Foundation Executive Director Paulann Doane told the Star-Tribune.

Other benevolent non-profit organi-zations in Casper assisted by McMurry are the Boys & Girls Club of Central Wyoming; the Seton House, which pro-vides transitional housing and support services to homeless single parents and their children; the 12-24 Club, which hosts “12-step” recovery programs such as Alcoholics Anonymous and Narcotics Anonymous, and the Child Develop-ment Center of Natrona County, which provides development screening and early interventional services for preschool-age children.

He also played a key role in developing the Wyoming Contractors Association’s McMurry Training Center, which pro-vides training and job placement services for construction and industrial trades.

“He never golfed. He never fished,” biographer Noble said. “What he did was work ... he was bored with what we typi-cally think of as retirement.”

A memorial service for McMurry was conducted July 27 at the Oregon Trail State Veterans Cemetery just northeast of Casper.

“Neil ... came in with a lot of equipment and he was on the job all the time … We literally worked seven days a week, and sometimes 12 hours a day just to keep up. I didn’t see much of my wife and kids that summer. Neither did the other guys …”

– Retired WYDOT Director Don Diller, in a reminiscence taken from Neil McMurry’s 2010 biography, “Hurry McMurry”. The year was 1962, and Diller was a resident en-gineer supervising construction of a section of I-80 just west of Cheyenne. At $3 million, the project was the largest–to that point–ever undertaken by WYDOT’s predecessor agency, the Wyoming Highway Department.

Passings

Neil McMurry, center, with former Governor Freudenthal (left), officially opens the new High Plains Interchange south of Cheyenne with a ribbon cutting, September 2010.

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PassingsBeverly R. Walker

Beverly R. Walker, of WYDOT Driver Services in Cheyenne, died July 7 of a sudden illness. She was 38.

Walker had been with WYDOT since 1995, starting out in Driver Services in records documentation and later working on the Help Desk and in records review. She was promoted to supervisor of Hear-ings/Records Review in 2005.

Walker was a native of Laramie and a graduate of Cheyenne Central High School, and she attended travel agent school prior to joining WYDOT.

Her spare-time pursuits including shooting pool, and she was a champion player, participating in tournaments in Wyoming and Colorado, as well as the International Pool Tournaments in Las Vegas.

Funeral services were conducted July 13 in Cheyenne.

Donations in her memory should be directed in her name to Cheyenne-Lara-mie County Employees Federal Credit Union, with proceeds being directed to a charity of her family’s choosing.

Harlen L. RicklesHarlen L. Rickles, of Cheyenne I-80

Port of Entry, died July 16. He was 75.Rickles had worked with WYDOT

Port of Entry for the past 17 years at the I-80 office. “Harlen was a well respected officer and mentor. His wisdom and his humor was unmatched by anyone. Harlen was an easy person to be friends with

and will be missed by all,” says Thomas Giordano, friend and co-worker at the Cheyenne I-80 Port of Entry.

Prior to coming to WYDOT, he worked with a printing company in Henderson, Colo.

Rickles was born in Burlington, Iowa in 1937.

Rickles was a member of his church’s choir and enjoyed country music. He also was a member of the Civil Air Patrol in Burl-ington.

Services were held at Cheyenne Me-morial Chapel on July 27.

Beverly Walker Harlen Rickles


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