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Well folks, the end is near.

So in light of the upcoming end of the world, I am announcing that this will be the last issue of the Campbell County Observer.

Next Friday will be December 21st, the day the Mayan Calendar is running out.

Yes, those people who had stone technology, who’s language is known by less than 20 people in the world, and who’s existence has been wiped from the earth. The people who weren’t smart enough to survive can tell you when

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the end of the world is going to happen.

I know what you are thinking, I’m a nutcase. But I was able to find out exactly what is going to happen on December 21st this year thanks to the wonderful informational tool, the internet.

First, the Yellowstone super volcano is going to blow. This will happen at the same time that planets are aligned causing the polarity of the earth to switch.

A huge solar flare will melt the icebergs flooding much

of the continents with the help of tidal waves caused by the gravitational pull from planet Nibiru which will be coming dangerously close to earth. Because of all the confusion, all the superpowers will light of all of their nuclear and biological weapons. Finally, we will be hit by an asteroid to end it all.

Hope you all are prepared...I know I have given away all my money, cashed in all my savings, and have bought tons of survival equipment and food in case my family is the last people left alive.

So I would like to apologize to all the readers who bought subscriptions and all the clients who have

purchased advertising in the best newspaper in N.E. Wyoming, but after December 21st, the Observer will no longer exist. But neither will we, so you won’t miss it much.

Oh, and if you believe anything in this article you need your head examined.

See you on the 22nd!

Resolve to Quit Smoking in the New Year Submitted by Gale Rose - Gillette It’s at the top of many New Year’s resolution lists -- quitting smoking.

In fact, 15 million people try to quit smoking cigarettes yearly. Only 5 percent succeed when they use no support or go cold turkey. Moreover, the average smoker will attempt to quit up to nine times before successfully quitting.

Luckily there are new tips and tools that can help smokers kick the habit this year.

In an effort to empower the more than 45 million current U.S. smokers to call it quits, GlaxoSmithKline Consumer Healthcare has launched Quit.com, a free, total quit-smoking online resource with tools to help smokers quit their cigarette addictions and stay smoke-free.

Every smoker is different; therefore every smoker’s approach to quitting may need to be different. Quit. com houses personalized tools in a central location to help smokers navigate quitting smoking, no matter where they may be in their quit journey.

Here are some tips from the experts at Quit.com to help smokers quit their nicotine addiction in the New Year:

• Preparing to Quit: First pick your quit date. By having a day you’re working toward, you’ll be able to prepare mentally and physically to quit. Do your research on how to be prepared before getting started.

• Ready to Quit: Support your quit by reducing your body’s physical cravings so they don’t get in the way of your willpower. Consider using a nicotine replacement product that fits your lifestyle, such as a gum, lozenge or patch.

• Currently Quitting: Celebrate every little win and stay focused on the positive benefits of quitting and why you decided to quit in the first place. If you get a strong craving, change things up to throw your urge to smoke.

• Post-Quit: Surround yourself with inspiration to stay smoke-free -- your family, your pet, your health and your finances -- and remember you have everything to gain by quitting.

More tips on quitting smoking can be found at www.Quit.com. The new website is built in four levels with specific tools depending on where smokers are in the quitting process -- preparing to quit, ready to quit, currently quitting or post-quit and

looking for resources to remain a nonsmoker.

“Quitting smoking is tough and requires focus and effort, but that’s only half the equation. Part of the addiction is behavioral -- a learned habit over time -- but the other part is neurobiology, a chemical dependency to nicotine,” explains Saul Shiffman, Ph.D., an addiction and dependence expert, researcher in behavior change and relapse at the University of Pittsburgh, and paid-consultant to GlaxoSmithKline Consumer Healthcare. “Using a combination of behavioral resources, education and quit smoking medicines can improve chances of success!”

Quit.com also offers tools to help battle mental aspects of quitting smoking, such as identifying and tracking triggers and making a list of reasons you want to quit, along with resources to help fight the physical addiction, such as a quit guide to find the right nicotine replacement to provide relief from cravings.

The key to successfully kicking the habit is to empower and encourage smokers to try quitting and give them tools to help them succeed.

News from Wyoming Department of Health HIV and STD Connection makes testing for both important

The connection between HIV infection and the presence of other sexually transmitted diseases is likely an overlooked area of HIV prevention, according to a Wyoming Department of Health representative.

Rob Johnston, HIV Prevention Program manager with the Wyoming Department of Health, said evidence indicates persons who have a sexually transmitted disease (STD) are far more likely to get HIV if exposed to the virus through sexual contact.

“STDs weaken the immune system and sometimes cause sores that can serve as entry points for HIV,” Johnston said.

In 2010, Wyoming had 23 newly reported HIV cases.

Unfortunately, Johnston said, STDs such as gonorrhea are get-

ting harder to treat. “Normally when someone gets gonorrhea, they can visit a healthcare provider for treatment with antibiotics. However, we are finding that gonorrhea doesn’t respond as well to treatment as before due to increasing antibiotic resistance,” he explained.

“Knowing about the link between STDs and HIV makes condom use and testing among sexually active individuals more important,” Johnston said. Condoms effectively prevent STD and HIV transmission. “The most common symptom of STDs and HIV is no symptom, which is why folks should get tested regularly for both and, if infected, seek care and treatment.”

Johnston encouraged residents to talk with a medical professional

about their sexual behavior and testing. “Sexually active individuals should get tested for HIV and STDs annually or when they have a new partner,” Johnston said. “Without testing folks for both, we may miss STDs that can help lead to HIV transmission.”

Johnston also mentioned the possibility that HIV medications are not as effective in controlling HIV in patients who also have STDs. “Treating HIV-positive patients may also mean taking care of other STDs,” he said.

Wyoming residents are encouraged to visit www.knowyo.org for a free STD and HIV screening voucher. Participating sites are identified on an interactive web site map, as well as educational information.

For subscriptions go to www.CampbellCountyObserver.net

Community

December 14 - 21, 2012

Gillette-Campbell County Airport reports November traffic and offers holiday travel tips

Gillette-Campbell County Airport today reported November and yearto-date traffic, as it prepares to welcome December’s holiday travelers.

In the month of November, the airport served 4,542 arriving and departing passengers, a 17.7 percent decrease from November 2011, when 5,522 passengers traveled through the airport. Despite the monthly dip in traffic, year-to-date passenger counts are essentially even with last year’s down by only 1.1 percent versus the 11 months of 2011.

As GCC readies for December’s holiday traffic rush, its staff reminds

passengers of a few important travel tips: • Arrive at GCC at least 90 minutes to departure time.

• Check in online to skip ticket counter lines.

• Carry only unwrapped gifts in carry-ons and checked baggage.

• Find parking information, flight status, and links to GCC’s partner airlines’ websites at www.iflygillette.com.

About Gillette-Campbell County Airport: The Gillette-Campbell County Airport is located in Northeastern Wyoming in a major energy producing part of the country known as the

Powder River Basin. Gillette is at the hub of this basin, and the Airport serves the commercial service and general aviation needs for a large portion of this corner of the state. The Airport sees approximately 56,000 passengers come through yearly and is currently served by Delta Air Lines, United Airlines and Great Lakes Aviation to Denver, Salt Lake City, and Rock Springs, Wyoming. The GilletteCampbell County Airport and tenants currently employ approximately 260 people in the surrounding area.

Campbell County Observer

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On-Call Downtown Snow Removal remains the same

At last night’s Gillette City Council meeting the council had consideration of two different on-call downtown snow removal contracts for snow removal along Gillette Avenue from 1st Street to 7th Street. Interim Public Works Director for the City of Gillette Sawley Wilde said the council voted to keep the service “curb to curb”, which Wilde said has historically been the case.

“The low bidder was Earth Work Solutions, the rate for all their equipment came in at $805 an hour. For big snow events they’ll clean up at night from 9pm to 7am. And the quotes went out for curb to curb which means those downtown business owners will still be responsible for clearing the sidewalks.”---Wilde The council did have consideration of a contract to include on-call snow removal

to be building face to building face. Downtown business owner Louise Carter King abstained on the vote.

Gillette Mayor Tom Murphy along with council members Everett Boss and John Opseth voted “yes” for the contractor to clear sidewalks on Gillette Avenue. The consideration failed in a tied vote however, after Council President Kevin McGrath along with councilmen Ted Jerred and Robyn Kuntz cast “no” votes to the consideration.

McGrath said he felt the clearing of the sidewalks of downtown businesses was not the taxpayers responsibility and should be left up to the business owner.

Murphy said he felt the measure would have made good sense after a big snow event.

“The City Streets Department goes into the downtown when we have a ma-

jor event. And by the time business owners show up, they take the snow from the sidewalks and push it back into the streets. So for me it is an easy fix, if we are going to improve our downtown and increase shopping in our community,

and keep our tax dollars at home, it makes good sense that when we have a big snow event to go building to building.”---Murphy.

The “building face to building face” quote agreement being considered was also from Earth Work Solutions.

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Community

Campbell County Observer

Wyoming State 4-H Foundation gives $188,000 in benefits to county 4-H programs Wyoming county 4-H programs have received nearly $188,000 from the Wyoming State 4-H Foundation this past year.

The foundation also provided more than $23,000 in awards for state-held contests. Benefits were based only on events taking place during the fiscal year.

“The 4-H program offers a wide variety of educational opportunities for young people in Wyoming,” said Steve Mack, director, Wyoming State 4-H Foundation. “The more that youth are engaged and participate in those opportunities, the more likely that youth from their county 4-H program are receiving benefits from donations to the foundation.”

During the last fiscal year, the foundation supported youth programs including meat judging, wool judging, horse judging, livestock judging, the UW Showcase Showdown, shooting sports and the state leadership team.

The Wyoming State 4-H Foundation is a non-profit corporation and is the only official state organization sanctioned to support 4-H youth programs and education in the state.

The foundation is funded by citizens and companies, according to Mack.

“It’s all about the young people and being involved not only on a county basis but also that they take advantage of the opportunities Wyoming 4-H has on the state level,” he said.

The foundation is connected to the University of Wyoming (UW) through the College of Agriculture and Natural Resources and UW Extension.

“4-H is funded as a partnership between government and the private sector,” said Johnathan Despain,

state 4-H program coordinator. “UW Extension is the government side, while the state 4-H foundation is the private side. The state 4-H foundation helps to raise funds for expenditures associated with delivery of educational opportunities.”

The foundation provides support to the 4-H programs in all 23 counties and the Wind River Reservation; programs focus on four main areas: educational programming; scholarships;

out-of-state trips and contests; and recognition and awards.

“Without the 4-H foundation, the developmental needs of the young people could not be met because there wouldn’t be the resources to ensure the opportunities exist,” said Despain.

Financial support for 4-H county programs and their youth provide college scholarships, programming grants, awards and recognition, and out-of -state trips including Citizenship Washington Focus, Denver Roundup, National Conference and National Congress.

Federal funds cover employee sal-

aries, overhead and costs for some programs, said Despain, but are not enough.

“The foundation provides the needed resources to fill in gaps of underfunding and for any new needs that occur – which are ever-expanding,” he said. “Many opportunities would not be available to young people without the financial support of donors to the 4-H Foundation.”

Grants supported by the foundation included Workforce Prep, Youth in Governance, Career Development, Helen Miller, Shooting Sports, Sport fishing, CommunityPride and Small Animals. The awards money pays for plaques, silver trays, trophies, special gifts and cash awards.

“The awards benefit the entire state and are won by contestants from throughout all of Wyoming’s county 4-H programs,” said Mack.

Despain reiterated the importance of the foundation and its connection to UW Extension.

“Our partnership is critical to the future for the 4-H program,” he said.

“Donations to the foundation are taxdeductible as far as the law allows.”

Despain said that the 4-H foundation is rated high among 501(c)(3) organizations for turning donations into benefits for the youth it serves.

“That means the money really goes to directly benefitting the youth,” said Despain. “Our program is growing, reaching new and underserved audiences, which means the financial need is greater than ever to continue to create low-cost opportunities like club programming, camps, clinics, workshops, etc., which the foundation provides – please donate.”

Energy efficiency grant opportunities available until June 2013

The State Energy Office Small Business Energy Audit and Renewable Energy Assessment grant funds will be available to Wyoming businesses until June 30, 2013.

The Wyoming Business Council State Energy Office, in partnership with the University of Wyoming Extension office and ManufacturingWorks, offer funding and technical support to entities pursuing an energy audit and renewable energy assessments.

“The goal of the grant funds is to help Wyoming business owners think differently about how they consume energy and provide them an action plan to act on improving energy efficiency at their places of business,” said Sherry Hughes, State Energy Office Energy Efficiency Program manager. “It’s a great way for business owners to save energy while saving money.”

According to Hughes, energy efficiency improvements and smallscale renewable energy systems are an often overlooked cost-effective opportunity for Wyoming’s small businesses, agricultural producers, non-profits, and local governments, and this program is aimed at solving that problem.

So far, nine businesses have take advantage of the energy efficiency grants, including Wyoming-based telecommunications company Union Wireless.

“When I learned of the energy audit and grant program available from the

State of Wyoming, I enthusiastically pursued securing funds from the state,” said Jan Fasselin, Director of Advertising for Union Wireless. “The energy grant provided was critical in allowing Union Telephone to upgrade to a better insulation product. The end result is a much more energy efficient building that will continue to provide service to the employees that work in the community.”

The State Energy Office offers a 75/25 $5,000 grant for energy audits and retrofits as identified within the audit. Qualified entities include small businesses, based on Small Business Administration criteria; agricultural producers; non-profits; and divisions of local government.

The partnership with the University of Wyoming Extension and Manufacturing Works offers an additional $2,000 through a United Stated Department of Agriculture Rural Development grant for small businesses located in rural areas. The USDA grant also offers a renewable energy assessment for rural small businesses, farms and ranches.

Renewable energy assessments explore producing energy through small-scale biomass, geothermal, hydroelectric, solar (thermal and electric), and wind energy systems.

Residences and housing units are not eligible.

The audit will be completed by engineers from UW-affiliated Manufacturing Works. Other contractors can also be utilized, but some grant

Come see the Nativity

Heritage Christian School, Gillette, WY will be featuring a live nativity on Thursday, December 20, 2012. Students and friendly, live animals (miniature donkey, goats, sheep, cows) will be enacting the manger scene from 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. Warm up with complimentary hot cocoa and help fund Christian education by supporting HCS’s bake sale.

Join them at 510 Wall Street Court, Gillette, WY. It’s sure to be a memorable, family friendly night!

Writers

Nicholas De Laat - Owner/Editor NicholasDeLaat@CampbellCountyObserver.com

Sandra Boehler (Charities/Fundraisers/Veterans Events) SandraBoehler@CampbellCountyObserver.com

Keary Speer - Editor KearySpeer@CampbellCountyObserver.com

Glenn Woods (Political Column) GlennWoods@CampbellCountyObserver.com

Anne Peterson - Advertising Sales Manager AnnePeterson@CampbellCountyObserver.com

Mike Borda (American History) MichaelBorda@CampbellCountyObserver.com

Dale Russell - Sales/Marketing DaleRussell@CampbellCountyObserver.com Owen Clarke - Ad Design OwenClarke@CampbellCountyObserver.com

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Weekly Trivia Answer from Last Week Who invented the first American Tank?

Benjamin Holt

CampbellCountyObserver.net 5105 Tarry St. Gillette, WY 82718 (PP-1) Volume 2 Issue 49 The Campbell County Observer is published

by Patriot Publishing L.L.C. in Gillette, WY every Friday.

5105 Tarry St. Gillette, WY 82718 Postmaster: Send address changes to 5105 Tarry St. Gillette, WY 82718

Bill Stone - Advertising Sales/Marketing BillStone@CampbellCountyObserver.com

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funding may not be available to these vendors due to external grant restrictions.

Applicants will be evaluated by eligibility based on a first come first serve basis until funding is exhausted. Eligible applicants may apply for both a renewable energy assessment and energy audit. Information and application can be found at: http://www.wyomingbusiness.org/ program/small-business-energyaudit-and-/6663

Campbell County Observer

Candice De Laat - Owner/Publisher CandiceDeLaat@CampbellCountyObserver.com

December 14 - 21,locally-p 2012

Jeff Morrison (Local History Contributor) JeffMorrison@CampbellCountyObserver.com Amanda Wright (Government/Politics Reporter) AmandaWright@CampbellCountyObserver.com James Grabrick (Where is This?)

JamesGrabrick@CampbellCountyObserver.com

Clint Burton - Photographer ClintBurton@CampbellCountyObserver.com

3

Benjamin Holt, who’s company would later turn into the equipment manufacturer Caterpillar Benjamin Holt of the Holt Manufacturing Company of Stockton, California was the first to patent a workable crawler type tractor in 1907. The center of such innovation was in England, and in 1903 he traveled to England to learn more about ongoing development, though all those he saw failed their field tests. Holt paid Alvin Lombard US$60,000($1,552,000 in 2012) for the right to produce vehicles under Lombard’s patent for the Lombard Steam Log Hauler.]

Holt returned to Stockton and, utilizing his knowledge and his company’s metallurgical capabilities, he became the first to design and manufacture practical continuous tracks for use in tractors.

In England, David Roberts of Hornsby & Sons, Grantham, obtained a patent for a design in July 1904, In the United States, Holt replaced the wheels on a 40 horsepower (30 kW) Holt steamer, No. 77, with a set of wooden tracks bolted to chains. On November 24, 1904, he successfully tested the updated machine plowing the soggy delta land of Roberts Island.

When World War I broke out, with the problem of trench warfare and the difficulty of transporting supplies to the front, the pulling power ofcrawlingtype tractors drew the attention of the military.

Holt tractors were used to replace horses to haul artillery and other supplies. The Royal Army Service Corps also used them to haul long trains of freight wagons over the unimproved dirt tracks behind the front. Holt tractors were, ultimately, the inspiration for the development of the British and French tanks. By 1916, about 1000 of Holt’s Caterpillar tractors were used by the British in World War I. Holt vice president Murray M. Baker said that these tractors weighed about 18,000 pounds (8,200 kg) and had 120 horsepower (89 kW). By the end of the war, 10,000 Holt vehicles had been used in the Allied war effort.

Fully tracked caterpillar tractors became commercially available in 1908, especially in the United States, but also in lesser quantities in Europe, and were to prove a solution to the cross-country requirements of World War I battlefields. Over the next four years, they became a major artillery tractor, mainly used to haul medium guns like the 6-inch howitzer, the 60-pounder, and later the 9.2-inchhowitzer.

By 1916, about 1,000 of Holt’s Caterpillar tractors were in use by the British on the Western Front.

By the end of World War I, the British War Office had received 2,100 Holt tractors, about 1,800 of the Holt Model 45 “Caterpillars”; 1,500 of the Holt Model 75 “Caterpillars”, and 90 of the Holt six-cylinder Model 120 “Caterpillars”, about one-eighth of approximately 5,000 Holt vehicles used by all Allied forces. Imported Holt tractors also formed the basis of the French Schneider and Saint-Chamond tanks and the German A7V tank.

Community

December 14 - 21, 2012

Campbell County Observer

Wyoming outdoor product producers invited to premier sporting trade shows Submitted by Matt Cox - Wyoming Business Council Wyoming outdoor product manufacturers are invited to join the Wyoming Business Council at the International Sportsman’s Expo in Denver, Colo., and Salt Lake City, Utah, this winter.

The expos are open to both wholesalers as well as the general public and are considered the premier travel, fishing, hunting, camping and outdoor sports shows in the country.

The Wyoming Business Council has secured exhibition booth space at the shows and is giving Wyoming outdoor companies the opportunity to reserve space at a reduced rate. A 10 x 10 foot space in the Wyoming booth costs $700. Company repre-

sentatives are required to be present during the event.

“This is a great opportunity for outdoor companies in Wyoming to show off their products at an event where they can sell face-to-face with the public or meet with wholesalers,” said Business Council Senior Marketing Information Specialist Terri Barr.

The Denver show runs Jan. 7-20, 2013 at the Convention Center and the Salt Lake show runs March 14-17 at the South Towne Expo Center. Interested Wyoming companies should contact Barr as soon as possible as space is limited.

For more information or to request

an application, contact Terri Barr at 307.777.2807 orterri.barr@wyo.gov.

The mission of the Business Council is to facilitate the economic growth of Wyoming. The Business Council, a state government agency, concentrates its efforts on providing assistance for existing Wyoming companies and start-ups, helping communities meet their development and diversification needs, and recruiting new firms and industries targeted to complement the state’s assets. For more information, please visit www. wyomingbusiness.org.

Submitted by James Phillip Grabrick

Where is this picture taken?

Answer from last week St. Mathews Catholic Church

Where Is This Picture sponsored by:

Rules and tips for winter recreation in the Bighorn National Forest

Bighorn National Forest law enforcement officers and managers would like to remind everyone of some important rules and tips for safe winter recreation in the forest.

Forest regulations require that off-road snowmobile travel is allowed only when there are more than six inches of snow. This snow depth protects your investment in your machine as well as the natural features of the land. People caught snowmobiling off-road on less than six inches of snow or damaging exposed vegetation will be issued citations.

Not all areas of the national forest are open to snowmobiles. The Cloud Peak Wilderness, downhill ski areas, cross-country ski trails, and wildlife area closures are off limits to snowmobiles.

Wyoming law requires

that all snowmobiles must have either a current Wyoming Resident or Nonresident user fee decal prominently displayed on the outside of each snowmobile. The $25 decal is available at many locations throughout the state.

A little forethought and preparation go a long way to ensuring a safe and enjoyable winter experience in the outdoors.

• Be prepared for the worst by carrying extra food and water, warm, dry clothing, and making sure your vehicle is equipped for winter travel • Check the weather forecast • Be aware of your surroundings • Carry an avalanche beacon, a shovel, and a probing pole • Carry a GPS unit and a map • Don’t ride, ski, or snow-

shoe alone • Let someone know where you’re going and when you expect to return • Many areas of the forest are outside of cell phone coverage, so don’t rely on a cell phone for communication Poor visibility is another hazard for winter recreation, said recreation staff officer Dave McKee. “Each year, search and rescue operations take place due to snowmobilers getting lost because of low visibility. If visibility is poor, don’t go out. If you’re already out and visibility becomes poor, proceed with extra caution or stay put until it clears enough to see where you are going.”

“Winter brings a magical quiet to the mountains.

Whether your interest is snowmobiling, skiing, or just enjoying the quiet beauty of the forest, we

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think the Bighorn National Forest is a special place in the winter,” added McKee. Snowmobilers are encouraged to contact the Forest Service to find out what areas are open to snowmobiles. Maps showing snowmobile trails and closed areas are available at Bighorn National Forest offices in Buffalo, Lovell, and Sheridan. The Forest Service can also provide the latest road and travel conditions on the forest.

Information about snowmobile registration can be found at the Wyoming Trails website at http://wyotrails.state.wy.us/Snow/ Index.aspx.

Avalanche awareness information is available fromhttp://www. fsavalanche.org/.

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Report describes potential Medicaid expansion impacts

Expanding Wyoming Medicaid as encouraged by the federal Affordable Care Act (ACA) could reduce the number of uninsured residents and save more than $47 million in state budget funds over six years, according to a new Wyoming Department of Health (WDH) report.

Tom Forslund, WDH director, said his department analyzed ACA costs, benefits and Medicaid impacts.

“Based on the information we have so far about the federal healthcare law and how it will work, we determined the full Medicaid expansion made optional by the Supreme Court decision earlier this year could increase the number of insured Wyoming residents and result in state general fund savings.”

The WDH report described both positive and negative impacts of expanding Medicaid in Wyoming. On the positive side, reducing the uninsured rate could help more Wyoming residents gain healthcare services and could also support the state’s healthcare providers by reducing the amount of uncompensated care they now must cover. The expected increase in federal dollars flowing into the system could help create higher demand for healthcare jobs.

Potential negative impacts of expansion included potential healthcare provider shortages and uncertainty about the federal deficit’s effect on future federal funding.

As the ACA goes into effect, Wyoming will receive a 50-50 federal cost match to cover newly eligible children and “woodwork” enrollees. Expanded coverage for these groups is not optional. “Woodwork” enrollees are likely already eligible for Medicaid and may be prompted by the ACA to enroll.

The net cost to the state of covering the mandatory groups is estimated by con-

sulting group Milliman to be $79.4 million for state fiscal years 2014-20 with an additional 10,600 Wyoming individuals expected to enroll in Medicaid by 2016. “We must expect to pay Wyoming’s share for these groups regardless of whether decision makers choose to further expand our Medicaid program,” Forslund said.

If Wyoming’s policymakers decide to further expand Medicaid to cover everyone under age 65 with incomes up to 133 percent of the federal poverty level (FPL), the federal government will cover 100 percent of costs for newly eligible adult enrollees for the first three years beginning in 2014. The federal share would decline to 90 percent by 2020. Milliman’s best estimate is for 17,600 new “optional” enrollees if Wyoming fully expands Medicaid.

According to WDH projections: • The combined costs of expanding Medicaid to cover both the mandatory and optional groups for state fiscal years 2014-20 would be $151.1 million.

• The combined budget offsets for the same period would be $198.5 million.

• The net state general fund impact for the same period if Medicaid is full expanded is $47.4 million in savings.

“While most of the state’s expected ACA-related costs are caused by coverage of mandatory groups due to their lower federal match, the potential savings we found are mostly linked to the optional expansion for adults,” Forslund said.

WDH has several statefunded programs that provide certain healthcare services to vulnerable populations. “We may be able to maximize federal financing by shifting funding from programs that are currently paid for with state funds to Medicaid, which will be

funded with mostly federal funds for the optional expansion group of adults,” Forslund said.

In addition, some services now offered by WDH programs will be available for clients through Medicaid’s healthcare coverage or private insurance.

Programs with possible opportunities for cost offsets include mental health and substance abuse outpatient services, Prescription Drug Assistance Program, breast and cervical cancer coverage, Pregnant

by Choice waiver, Employed Individuals with Disabilities Program, the Wyoming State Hospital, renal dialysis, colorectal cancer screening, HIV/AIDS medications and tobacco cessation medication/counseling.

Medicaid is a joint federal and state government program that pays for medical care for some low-income and medically needy individuals and families. There are currently four primary categories of Medicaid eligibility in Wyoming: Children; Pregnant Women; Family Care Adults; and individuals who are Aged, Blind or Disabled.

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Community

Campbell County Observer

December 14 - 21, 2012

Women’s One Shot Antelope Hunt set for October 2013 in Wyoming Submitted by Wyoming Women’s Foundation Wyoming’s inaugural Women’s One Shot Antelope Hunt, held Oct. 3-6, 2013, will celebrate women hunters and raise money for the Wyoming Women’s Foundation.

Hosted and organized by the Wyoming Women’s Foundation, the event will provide a guided antelope hunt for 50 women. The weekend hunt will be held at the historic Ucross Ranch in Ucross, Wyo. “Wyoming was the first state to recognize women’s right to vote. And now we’re leading the way by hosting the Women’s One Shot Antelope hunt,” said Marilyn Kite, Wyoming Supreme Court Chief Justice and event cochairwoman. “The event is ideal whether you’re a first-time hunter or a seasoned pro. Our emphasis will be on safe and responsible hunting.”

Monies raised at this event will support the mission of the Wyoming Women’s Foundation, which is to invest in the economic, self-sufficiency of women and the

Game and Fish Calendar now available

The 2013 Wyoming Game and Fish Department wildlife calendar is now available featuring the images of noted photographer Tim Christie.

The calendar not only features prominent Cowboy State species from pronghorn to Snake River cutthroat trout to Canada geese, but also the vivid elements of the seasons.

It may be ordered from the Game and Fish Store for $9.95 or can be obtained as part of Wyoming Wildlife Magazine’s “Give a Gift, Get a Gift” promotion in which a gift subscription to Wyoming Wildlifeawards

the giver with a free calendar.

“This is an excellent way to get a calendar and provide a friend or relative the gift of Wyoming Wildlife,” said Judith Hosafros, Wyoming Wildlifeassistant editor. “The subscription is only a few dollars ($12.95) higher than the calendar and the ‘Give a Gift, Get a Gift’ program has been very popular in past years.”

Christie has traveled and photographed all over North America, but Wyoming holds a special place in his heart. His work is featured inWyoming Wildlife, as well as Field & Stream,

National Wildlife, Outdoor Life, and many other publications. Visit Tim’s website,timchristiephoto. com.

To order a calendar, call (800) 548-9453 or stop into the department’s Cheyenne office. To purchase a gift subscription to Wyoming Wildlife, call (800) 710-8345.

Hosafros said only a limited number of calendars, which also display application deadlines and the dates of other important Game and Fish events, are available and will be distributed on a first-come, firstserved basis.

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Governor supports responsive management of Shoshone National Forest

The Shoshone National Forest is the oldest national forest in the country and for the past several years officials and the public have been engaged in updating the management plan for the Forest. In his comments on the Draft Environmental Impact Statement Governor Matt Mead noted that the new Land Management Plan will guide the Forest for the next 15 years. Governor Mead wrote, “A balanced plan, one that respects multiple use and sustained yield principles, is essential in providing diverse opportunities.”

Governor Mead said he generally supports the management alternative which does not expand designated wilderness areas. Currently, 84% of the Forest’s 2.4 million acres already have some sort of management limitation because they are either wilderness or roadless areas.

“For the remaining portion

of the Shoshone, I believe the Forest Service has a good option before it. This plan continues management practices that are working and is responsive to the public,” Governor Mead said.

Governor Mead’s suggestions to the Forest Service include: • Address alternative timber product industries to deal with the sweeping effects of insect infestations.

• Work with the Wyoming State Trails Program to develop a map for snowmobil-

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• Do not limit group sizes for non-motorized users, which includes the National Outdoor Leadership School.

• Reassess the economic analysis for livestock grazing used in the Draft Environmental Impact Statement.

• Develop a no surface occupancy stipulation for oil and gas development in certain areas (refer to attached maps).

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future of girls. The goals of the One Shot Antelope Hunt are to: 1. Provide opportunities for women hunters to mentor and be mentored, 2. Allow participants to network with other like-minded women, 3. Enjoy Wyoming’s great outdoors and 4. Support efforts to improve access to education and jobs for Wyoming women.

Event participants will hunt on scenic private lands in northeastern Wyoming with experienced guides. In addition, women who attend this event will have ample time for networking, taking part in some friendly competitions, and raising funds for an important cause.

To ensure the success of the event, the Wyoming Women’s Foundation is seeking event sponsors.

Each sponsor, based on the level of their contribution, will have the opportunity to invite women to attend this event. For more information about the event, visit www.womensoneshot.com.

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December 14 - 21, 2012

Comics

6

Campbell County Observer

Campbell County Observer

Comics

December 14 - 21, 2012

To submit a quote of the week go to www.CampbellCountyObserver.net

Solutions from last week

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 nicholasdelaat@campbellcountyobserver.com

7

Community

December 14 - 21, 2012

City of Gillette announces several public open houses

Weekly Constitution Study

Every week, the Observer prints one article, paragraph, or section of either the U.S. or State Constitution for your information.

Downtown Revitalization, Stocktrail Neighborhood Plannings, and Safe Routes to Schools Meeting Scheduled The City of Gillette’s Planning and Engineering Divisions announced the dates and times of several upcoming public open houses for various projects, including Downtown Revitalization project, Stocktrail Neighborhood Planning project, and the Campbell County Safe Routes to Schools project.

Downtown Revitalization project The City of Gillette’s Planning Division will host a public presentation for the Downtown Public Design Studio on Wednesday, December 19th from 4 p.m to 6 p.m. at the George Amos Building on Gillette Avenue (Ponderosa Room.) Stop by for a few minutes and suggest design and economic development ideas for the downtown area.

On Thursday, December 20th at noon, stop by the Ponderosa Room in the George Amos Building and

see the public presentation of the Design Studio results.

For more information about the Downtown Revitalization project contact Michael Surface at (307) 686-5283.

Stocktrail Neighborhood Planning Project Open The City of Gillette will host a public open house on Monday, December 17th from 6:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. at the Campbell County Senior Center (located at 6th Street and Rohan Avenue). The open house will take place in the Senior Center Ballroom.

The public is invited to attend and learn about the potential opportunities within this neighborhood.

For more information about the Stocktrail Neighborhood Planning Project contact Michael Surface at (307) 686-5283.

Campbell County Observer

Campbell County Safe Routes to Schools Project The City of Gillette, Campbell County School District and KLJ will host a public open house on Thursday, January 10th from 6 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. at Twin Spruce Junior High School (100 East 7th Street) A short presentation will be given at 6:15 p.m., followed by time for public comment.

The purpose of this open house is to hear from the community about your vision for walking and biking to school. The City of Gillette, Town of Wright, Campbell County School District and Campbell County are developing a Safe Routes to Schools Travel Plan. Obstacles and solutions need to be identified to complete the plan.

U.S. Constitution, Amendment Ten Amendment X The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the states, are reserved to the states respectively, or to the people.

Sponsor our “Weekly Constitution Study” for only $30.00 per week!

Wyoming authors challenge readers to “Keep It Simple”

Steve Bahmer and Ron Rabou consider themselves to be the backto-the-basics guys. Here’s the idea: the solutions to our toughest challenges are often right in front of us.

But because we are so consumed by the pace of our lives, or our priorities of the moment, we overlook the obvious.

Instead, we tend to overcomplicate our lives and our work, heightening our stress levels and losing sight of what really matters, all without producing the results we want.

That’s where Bahmer and Rabou come in. In their first book, “Keep It Simple: The 12 Core Values that Lead to Personal and Professional Success,” Bahmer and Rabou challenge readers to think again about the core principles we already know, but somehow seem to have forgotten.

The book is available now at www. rethinkthebasics.com and on Amazon.com.

Throughout the book, Bahmer and Rabou draw on their personal experiences with success and tragedy to deliver a clear, simple approach for leading rich, happy, successful lives.

“In our always-connected, highspeed world, it’s easy to get bogged down in complexity and lose site of the basic values that help us lead full lives,” said Rabou, a partner with Bahmer in their company, ReThink, LLC. “We wanted to write a book that would remind people of those basic values and remind them that simpler can be better.”

The book includes a foreword by Miss America 2011, Teresa Scanlan, who attended a ReThink seminar in Scottsbluff, Neb., and was inspired by

what she heard.

“I walked out of that conference with a renewed hope,” Scanlan wrote.

“Moving forward in my life and career, I decided I would always implement their core message of ‘keep it simple’ in my own life.”

Based in Cheyenne, ReThink provides keynote speaking and training seminars for businesses, non-profit organizations and student groups across the country. Through their company, Bahmer and Rabou have delivered their message of simplicity, hope and strength to thousands nationwide.

In addition to their first book, Bahmer and Rabou have developed an apparel line that supports these key messages.

To learn more, visit www.rethinkthebasics.com.

Campbell Co. Fire Dept.

December 3, 2012

- At 12:03 a.m. to Sammye Avenue for an EMS assist.

- At 11:11 a.m. to Beech Street for an EMS assist.

- At 1:53 p.m. to 3005 Oakcrest Drive for a gas smell inside the building. CCFD responded to the scene and upon arrival did not find any natural gas inside the building. Maintenance staff and SourceGas personnel were notified and the scene was turned over to them for further investigation.

- At 3:00 p.m. to Bison Avenue for a possible structure fire. Upon arrival CCFD personnel determined there was no fire and the smoke seen by the 911 caller was coming from a fire place.

- At 4:01 p.m. to the area of Sundog Subdivision for a smoke report. CCFD responded to the scene and determined the smoke was from a controlled burn at 5007 Friday Street that was not properly reported.

December 5, 2012

- At 1:30 a.m. to 1801 Cliff Davis Drive (Wingate Inn) for a fire alarm. Firefighters checked the motel and found no fire and that the problem was with the fire alarm panel. The motel was temporary evacuated during the fire alarm.

- At 6:29 a.m. to the 700 block of Longmont Street for an EMS assist.

- At 07:28 a.m.to the area of Wyodak on HWY 51 for a 1 vehicle rollover. One person was injured in the crash and CCFD assisted with patient care and also disabled the vehicle’s electrical system.

- At 8:26 a.m. to Smithie Court for an EMS assist.

- At 11:06 a.m. to Market Street Court for an EMS assist.

- At 4:01 p.m. to Primrose Drive for an EMS assist.

- At 4:34 p.m. to Prairieview Drive for an EMS assist.

- At 5:45 p.m. to 5811 Glock Avenue for an automatic fire alarm activation. CCFD was cancelled en route.

- At 7:16 p.m. to 183 American Road for a carbon monoxide (CO) check on a resi-

dence. CCFD did not detect any CO in the residence.

- At 8:00 p.m. to Running W Drive for an EMS assist.

- At 9:12 p.m. to K Court for an EMS assist.

- At 9:54 p.m. to Bomber Mountain Road for a 1 vehicle rollover. One person was injured in the crash and CCFD assisted with patient care, disconnecting the vehicle’s electrical system, and repairing fence at the scene.

- State Loan and Investment Board approves $1.5 million DataPlant grant

December 7, 2012

- At 1:45 AM to 2000 block of North Highway 14-16 for a medical assist.

- At 6:30 AM to mile marker 146 on East Interstate 90 (the roadway was icy) for a one vehicle traffic accident resulting in minor injuries to the driver.

- At 9:46 AM to North Highway 59 near mile marker 124 for a one vehicle rollover, upon arrival it was determined to be a slide off type accident, minor injuries.

- At 10:39 PM to W. 8th St. for an EMS assist.

December 8, 2012

- At 6:50 AM to the 400 block of North Miller Avenue for a medical assist.

- At 11:43 AM to 3002 Watsabaugh Drive for a house on fire. Firefighters extinguished a fire on part of a wooden deck, exterior wall and floor joist area on the back side of the home. The fire was declared under control at 11:58 AM. A discarded cigarette butt started the fire.

Preliminary fire damage estimate is $2,000. The occupants renting the home discovered the fire when smoke began entering the home.

The home is insured and owned by Ms Janet Bishop.

The Campbell County Fire Department would like to remind its citizens to dispose of smoking materials in a noncombustible container(s) containing no combustibles (planters containing organic material such as peat moss can start on fire).

- At 8:25 PM to the 200 block of South Brooks Av-

December 11, 2012

enue for a medical assist.

- At 9:10 PM to 1000 block of Country Club Road for a medical assist.

- At 7:32 am to 1116 East 9th St. for a reported structure fire. Upon arrival crews found a small fire on the exterior front of the building with light smoke in the interior of the house. The fire was quickly extinguished, the cause is still under investigation and damage is estimated at $2,000.

- At 8:00 am to the intersection of Gillette Avenue and 2nd Street for a Two Vehicle Accident. There were no reported injuries and traffic was delayed in several lanes until the vehicles were cleared from the scene.

- At 8:43 am to Desert Hills Circle for an EMS assist.

- At 9:15 AM to the 300 Block of Svalina Rd for an EMS assist.

- At 2:53 pm to the area of approximately 3 miles behind the address of 714 West Echeta Road for an oil tank fire. The fire was accidentally started when workers were thawing out a frozen valve and caught the nearby wooden shed on fire.

Fire crews were able to safely extinguish the fire when they arrived on scene. The total damage estimate was valued at less than $500.00 total.

- At 4:05 pm to the address of 500 South Burma Avenue for a fire alarm activation. It was then immediately reported that it was a false alarm and all units were cancelled.

December 9, 2012

- At 2:11 AM to the 2500 block of Dogwood Avenue for a medical assist.

- At 3:38 AM to the 4500 block of Running W Drive for a medical assist.

- At 5:58 AM to the 900 block of Mountain Meadow Lane for a medical assist.

- At 11:47 AM to North Highway 59 for an EMS assist.

- At 2:36 PM to Swanson Rd. for an EMS assist.

- At 6:46 PM to Foothills Blvd. for a vehicle accident with minor injuries. Crews also applied floor dry to leaking fluids.

- At 10:49 PM to O’Neal Circle for an EMS assist.

December 10, 2012

- At 12:22 AM to Sioux for an EMS assist.

- At 11:26 am to the 800 Block of East Laramie Street for a Medical assist.

- At 2:27 pm to the area of five miles east of Gillette on Interstate 90 for a possible one vehicle rollover. It was found that the rollover actually occurred in Crook County and all Campbell County units were cancelled after it was known that they did not need any assistance.

- At 11:09 p.m. to the intersection of Victoria Road and Union Chapel Road for an EMS assist.

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Community

Campbell County Observer

December 14 - 21, 2012

Obituaries

RALPH YEATTS

A memorial service for Ralph Yeatts will be held at 3:00p.m. Friday, December 14,2012 at Walker Funeral Home, Gillette, WY with Pastor Dan Holden of the First Assembly of God Church officiating. Harley Davidson or casual attire is suggested by the family.

Ralph E. Yeatts, age 62, of Gillette, Wyoming passed away Saturday, December 8, 2012 at the Close to Home Hospice House after a short but courageous battle with pancreatic cancer.

Ralph was born November 19, 1950 in Denver, CO the son of Robert and Elenor (Alberhasky) Yeatts.

He was raised in Nebraska and graduated from Baird High School in 1968. Following graduation, Ralph started his career in the oil patch which brought him to Gillette, WY in 1969 when he went to work for Republic Supply. Later Ralph worked for Davis Oil where he amazed them with all his self taught knowledge. Although he held no college degrees, Ralph was considered to be an extremely smart man who knew the oil patch like no one else.

Ralph started his own business, Petroleum Dynamics, in 1980 and worked up until his final days, making sure all of his customers were taken care of.

In 1979 he met and married Debbie Blount. Together they raised three wonderful children, Hollie, Ryan, and Brandi. The couple divorced in 2006 but continued to remain friends.

Ralph had a work ethic that was hard to match but he also played just as hard.

He enjoyed riding his Harley with close friends and yearly trips to the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally. He loved riding with the wind on his face and nothing between him and the road except two wheels. If the sun was shining Ralph was on his bike. He also enjoyed camping, boating, traveling the world and he even earned his pilot’s license in 1987. He especially loved spending time with his kids, grandkids and close friends. If you were a friend of Ralph’s you were a friend for life. He would always be there for you with a cold beer or just to lend a friendly ear and he would never expect anything in return. Ralph had a gift for

making you laugh until you cried. He loved life and all it had to offer. Although his life was cut too short, in his words it was “A Beautiful Life.”

Ralph is survived by his three children: Hollie Yeatts of Sheridan, WY; Ryan (Mandie) Yeatts of Everett, WA; Brandi (Dusty) Jenkins of Denver, CO; and three grandchildren.

In Lieu of flowers memorials and condolences may be sent in Ralph’s name in care of Walker Funeral Home, 410 Medical Arts Court, Gillette, WY 82716.

Condolences may also be sent via our website; www. walkerfuneralgillette.com

BARBARA NISSELIUS

Funeral services for Barbara Jane “Barb” Nisselius was held at 1:00 p.m. Tuesday December 11, 2012 at the First Baptist Church in Gillette. Burial followed the service at Mount Pisgah Cemetery.

Mrs. Nisselius, age 65, died Thursday, December 6, 2012 at the Close to Home Hospice House in Gillette from complications of an aneurysm.

Barb Nisselius was born to Vito and Ruby Fiermonte on March 24, 1947, in Waterbury, Connecticut, and was the oldest of four brothers and a sister. After graduating from high school in California, she joined the Navy and became an air traffic controller. While in the Navy, she met Douglas Ellyson and they were married shortly after. Barb moved to Gillette in 1975, and soon began working for Carter Mining. She was a determined woman, as she became one of the first women in the county to operate a coal shovel. In 1979, she married Michael James Beck and continued to work in the mining industry throughout the 1980s.

She married James Arthur Nisselius on December 7, 1991, at the First Baptist Church in Gillette. She was a selfless woman, always putting others before herself. Barb enjoyed cooking and listening to Frank Sinatra. Later in life, she began to enjoy her newest hobby, online and TV shopping. A die-hard Republican, her television was usually always on Fox News.Mrs. Nisselius loved her family and enjoyed spending time with her sons and grandchildren.

Barb is survived by her sons: Clint Ellyson of Dal-

las, Texas, Curtis Ellyson of Denver Colorado, Matthew Nisselus of Tokyo, Japan, James Beck, Nathan Nisselius and Michael Nisselius all of Gillette, Wyoming; numerous grandchildren; and three brothers and a sister.

She was preceded in death by her husband, Jim Nisselius, and her father-inlaw, Jack Nisselius.

Memorials and condolences sent in her name may be sent in care of Gillette Memorial Chapel, 210 West Fifth St, Gillette, Wyoming 82716. Condolences also can be sent via the Internet at www.gillettememorialchapel.com.

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BEA LAHR

Bea Lahr, age 83, died November 28, 2012 at the Presbyterian Hospice House in Albuquerque, NM, surrounded by family and loved ones. Family services and a celebration of Bea’s life will be held at a later date.

Beatrice Catherine Lahr was born August 11, 1929 in Farmer, South Dakota to Nicholas and Mary Lahr and spent most of her life in Sioux Falls, South Dakota.

In 2001, Bea moved to Gillette, Wyoming to be closer to her son and his family. In 2003, Bea moved to Albuquerque, New Mexico to be closer to her beloved sister Carol, where she lived until the time of her death. Bea’s incredible baking abilities, clever wit, and love of card games will truly missed by all.

Bea is survived by her siblings: Carol Fjelseth, Marjorie Zuraff, and Richard Lahr; her children: Cheryl (Glenn) Scott, Theresa (Jim) Kubovy, Darrel (Maureen) Hurley and Pamela (Cally) Heesch; her grandchildren Christopher Conser, Katherine Kubovy, Caroline Kubovy, Christina Kubovy, Nicholas Hurley, Thomas Hurley, Patrick Hurley, James Hurley, Jennifer Heesch, Aaron Heesch and Amber Heesch; and 9 great grandchildren.

A memorial has been established to benefit the Hospice of Campbell County Memorial Hospital. Memorials and condolences may be sent in Bea’s name in care of Gillette Memorial Chapel, 210 W. 5th St, Gillette, Wyoming 82716.

Condolences also may be sent via our website: www. gillettememorialchapel. com.

55

Weekly Weather Forecast Saturday,

Sunday,

Monday,

Tuesday,

Wednesday,

Thursday,

Friday,

Dec. 15

Dec. 16

Dec. 17

Dec. 18

Dec. 19

Dec. 20

Dec. 21

36/21

39/22

34/19

38/24

38/21

37/21

36/19

Rain: 10% Wind: WSW at 8 Sunrise: 7:31 Solar noon: 11:57 Sunset: 16:24 Moonrise: 9:22 Moonset: 19:37 Day length: 8h 53m

Rain: 0% Wind: SW at 14

Sunrise: 7:32 Solar noon: 11:58 Sunset: 16:24 Moonrise: 10:01 Moonset: 20:50 Day length: 8h 52m

Rain: 0% Wind: WNW at 16 Sunrise: 7:32 Solar noon: 11:58 Sunset: 16:24 Moonrise: 10:34 Moonset: 22:00 Day length: 8h 52m

Weekly Weather Forecast Sponsored by

Rain: 0% Wind: SW at 14 Sunrise: 7:33 Solar noon: 11:59 Sunset: 16:24 Moonrise: 11:03 Moonset: 23:08 Day length: 8h 52m

Rain: 10% Wind: WSW at 13 Sunrise: 7:33 Solar noon: 11:59 Sunset: 16:25 Moonrise: 11:30 Moonset: none First Qtr: 22:20 Day length: 8h 51m

Rain: 0% Wind: SSW at 14 Sunrise: 7:34 Solar noon: 12:00 Sunset: 16:25 Moonrise: 11:56 Moonset: 0:13 Day length: 8h 51m

Rain: 0% Wind: WSW at 13 Sunrise: 7:35 Solar noon: 12:00 Sunset: 16:26 Moonrise: 12:23 Moonset: 1:15 Day length: 8h 51m

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Community

December 14 - 21, 2012

Campbell County Observer

It’s Donating Time Again

The Campbell County Observer is now taking donations for our Readers Choice Scholarship.

The Observer is hoping to raise $1,000.00 this year for a scholarship that will be given to a student from Wright (Panthers) or Gillette (Camels).

Students will be presenting the Observer with an essay, which the readers will vote on their favorite and the most deserving.

The only conditions are that the student must graduate from either Wright High School or Gillette High School and will be attending Gillette College in the fall. The scholarship will be put in their account at Gillette College by the Campbell County Observer.

“We are the local news-

paper, we take our community that we live and work in very personal. So we decided to do everything we can to keep the money local,” said Observer owner Nicholas De Laat. “And, community college attendees do not get the financial help from scholarships at the same level as the kids going to Universities.”

Observer owner Candice De Laat stated that “The money is donated by community, given to a young adult from our community, and spent on further education in our community… for our community. This is what we are all about, from the owners to the workers of our company.”

The Campbell County Observer has donated over $68,000.00 in money, ad-

vertising, and product to help local charities so far in 2012. “And this in only our second year in business!” said Mrs. De Laat. “The more we grow, the more we give.” She does not, however, want to discount the most important part of giving to these local charities. “Our customers and subscribers are the glue that holds everything together. If you want to thank someone for all the giving, thank them. They deserve it most!”

To donate to the Campbell County Observer’s Readers Choice Scholarship go to their website at www.CampbellCountyObserver.net or call (307) 6708980.

UW Survey: Wyoming Voters split on abortion issue

Wyoming voters are divided on the abortion issue, although the stark differences found in party platforms are not reflected in the general electorate, according to the University of Wyoming’s election year survey.

The abortion issue has been a matter of intense national political debate since the U.S. Supreme Court overruled many state anti-abortion laws in 1973, says Oliver Walter, dean of UW’s College or Arts and Sciences and the survey’s co-founder.

“For the most part, the Republican Party has adopted platforms that have increasingly been opposed to abortion, while the Democrats have generally supported the Supreme Court ruling,” he says.

In Wyoming, only 8 per-

cent of voters indicated that they favored a law making abortion illegal under all conditions.

“Even among those who identify with the Republican Party, only 12 percent favored this position,” Walter says. “Thirty-nine percent favored allowing abortion in cases of rape, incest or a threat to the life of the mother, a position that parallels that of Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney.”

On the other hand, Walter says 13 percent of the state sample indicated a more ambiguous response, namely, that abortion might be permitted if a “need could be established.” Finally, 38 percent of the sample said abortion should be a matter of personal choice.

“In sum, Wyomingites are

rather evenly split on the abortion issue,” he says.

“This split is found among both Republicans and Democrats. For instance, 27 percent of Republicans indicated that they thought abortion should be a matter of personal choice, while 19 percent of Democrats said abortion should be permitted only in the case of rape or incest.”

The statewide telephone survey of 668 Wyoming citizens was conducted in October by UW’s Wyoming Survey Analysis Center.

The survey has a margin of error of plus or minus 4 percentage points. Biennial surveys of Wyoming residents have been conducted by the UW Department of Political Science since 1972.

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Public Pulse

Campbell County Observer

December 14 - 21, 2012

The First, not Final, Word on Obamacare A Commentary by Steve Klein - Wyoming Liberty Group

Proposed Gas Tax would hurt families Submitted by Keith Phucas - Republic Free Choice Wyoming Wyoming taxpayers who are against a proposed fuel tax hike voiced their opposition before the Joint Revenue Committee, but after public comment, legislators voted to sponsor the bill that would boost the tax 10 cents on every gallon of gasoline or diesel sold in the state.

Currently, the total tax on a gallon of gas in Wyoming is 32.4 cents – 18.4 cents is federal tax; 14 cents is the state excise tax. For diesel fuel, the state tax per gallon is also 14 cents; however, the federal tax is 24.4 cents, for a total of 38.4 cents per gallon.

The planned tax increase would hike the state tax on gasoline to 24 cents a gallon for a total of 42.4 cents per gallon.

Maureen Bader, of the Wyoming Liberty Group, handed committee members a policy paper entitled, “Gas Tax Honesty: A Mythbuster,” that debunked a number of common misconceptions being circulated to justify the tax hike.

One of the myths claiming Wyoming doesn’t have enough money to maintain its roadways is untrue, according to the policy paper.

However, the state budget has doubled – from $4 billion to $8 billion – during the past decade, and state spending on “numerous non-essential government programs” could have gone to repair or repave roads.

“If state spending has doubled, and yet there is still not enough money for roads, then perhaps the problem is systemic and something more money will not fix,” she said.

Bader told the state lawmakers that endorsing the tax would hurt consumers and cost private-sector jobs.

“Families are going to have a real squeeze on their budgets when suddenly they have to pay more for gas,” she said.

“That means they’ll have less money for other things. Let’s face it – a gasoline tax is a silent job killer.”

Lifting language from the Wyoming Fuel Tax Administration’s website, Bader dispelled another myth: gas retailers will absorb the tax hike and not pass the cost on to their customers. The proposed increase would be a “direct tax on the ultimate or retail consumer,” she said, that would negatively impact the budgets of lower- and middle-income families.

And she reminded lawmakers that those

who would be forced to pay more for gas due to a higher tax are their own constituents.

“You’re talking about hurting the very people who just voted you back into office thinking you were going to be looking out for their interests,” she said.

As well, a gas tax hike is an “indirect attack on the family budget,” Bader said, as the price of everything transported by truck – clothing, shoes and food – goes up in price as well.

Wyoming Farm Bureau Federation also opposes the planned fuel tax.

Brett Moline, director of Public and Governmental Affairs for the state Farm Bureau, conceded that fuel-burning vehicles used exclusively on farms and ranches are exempt from the fuel tax; however, the group’s members would all feel the fiscal effects of a tax increase.

“We utilize a lot of trucks. We have to go into town to get parts. Those parts are trucked in,” Moline said. “Almost all of our goods are trucked in.”

Instead of a tax, Moline suggested greater oversight of Wyoming Department of Transportation’s budget to ensure costeffectiveness.

“Growing up on a ranch, one of the best things we did to increase efficiency was having somebody else come in and see how we were doing things and point out ways we could improve things, lower costs and improve productivity,” he said.

Wyoming Business Alliance is one of many organizations supporting a fuel tax, and the group’s president, Bill Schilling, claimed the proposed levy was the only way to fund the state’s roadways.

“There really is no other alternative to maintaining highways,” Schilling said.

But Sen. Cale Case, the sole vote against the proposed fuel tax bill, asked Schilling why business groups have not explored tolling I-80 as a long-term solution to roadway funding.

Schilling said his organization does “look favorably” at proposals to toll Interstate 80 (I-80).

Case said tolling would be a reliable long-term funding solution that deserves attention.

“We have never given serious consideration to tolling the highways,” he said. “We are truly missing the mark.”

Last March, during the three days of oral argument over the constitutionality of Obamacare in NFIB v. Sebelius, Paul Clement argued that if the individual mandate provision of Obamacare was unconstitutional, then the entire 1,000-plus page law should be overturned. He supported his argument with one of the longest Supreme Court decisions in history, Buckley v. Valeo. In that 1976 decision, instead of overturning the Federal Election Campaign Act and sending it back to Congress, the Court selectively upheld, overturned or modified parts of the law. Far from clarifying the law’s meaning, Buckley set the stage for decades of lawsuits that continue to this day.

Clement certainly called it: The NFIB decision upheld the individual mandate on very narrow grounds as a tax and overturned the requirement for states to expand Medicaid, leaving the rest of Obamacare untouched despite the effects the ruling has throughout the law. We can expect hundreds of more suits against provisions of Obamacare over the years, attacking it piece-by-piece. Indeed, these suits have already begun.

The majority of the Supreme Court upheld the individual mandate as a tax, but a new lawsuit is challenging the constitutionality of how this so-called tax was passed. Under Article I, Section 7 of the Constitution, all taxes must be introduced in the House of Representatives, and Obamacare originated in the Senate. Meanwhile, dozens of corporations and other organizations have filed suits against Obamacare’s require-

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ment that they provide health insurance for their employees that includes coverage for contraception. These companies, like Hobby Lobby, are owned and operated by Americans with strong religious objections to paying for contraceptives, and claim such a requirement violates their First Amendment rights to freely exercise their religion.

That’s just scratching the surface. Health and Human Services has barely begun to propose regulations regarding health insurance exchanges and other aspects of Obamacare. Often, federal agencies take great liberties with the law they’re charged to enforce and exercise authority far beyond what’s in the law. When-not if-that starts to happen, there will be even more lawsuits challenging these regulations as arbitrary and capricious. One can only imagine the challenges that will arise from actions of the Independent Payment Advisory Board, which is tasked with finding cost savings in Medicare without affecting coverage or quality. A lawsuit is already pending that challenges the board’s very existence.

With the NFIB decision and the re-election of President Obama, progressives insist that Obamacare is here to stay. To a certain extent that’s true, but as the law is implemented and the realities set in, the fight against this still-wildly-unpopular law will only get more heated and more litigious. So, far from being the final word on Obamacare, the NFIB decision has already proved to be closer to the first word as far as the courts are concerned.

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Enzi press release on Russia Trade Bill

Soda ash, oil field equipment, and beef are just a few of the Wyoming products that will be able to fairly compete in Russian markets, said U.S. Senators Mike Enzi and John Barrasso, both R-Wyo., who voted in favor of H.R. 6156, the Russia Permanent Normal Trade Relations (PNTR) bill today.

The legislation would give America the opportunity to challenge unfair trade practices in the World Trade Organization (WTO) if Russia does not honor its commitments, according to Enzi.

The Senate voted 92-4 in favor of the bill and it now heads to President Obama for his signature.

Russia was officially accepted into the WTO on August 22. In order for the United States and Russia to receive the benefits of Russia’s WTO accession, including the ability to negotiate and challenge unfair trade remedies, Congress needed to amend the 1974 Trade Act by removing Cold War-era conditions imposed by the law.

The PNTR bill also included language that would impose sanctions on individuals linked to human rights abuse.

“This bill means new markets for Wyoming products.

It means fair trade,” said Enzi. “The passage of this trade bill will not only help create jobs, it will help American businesses compete on a level playing field with our Russian counterparts.”

“Establishing permanent normal trade relations with Russia and Moldova allows

increased market access for industries across Wyoming,” said Barrasso. “At the same time, this bill enhances our ability to safeguard our businesses from unfair trade practices in the global marketplace. This is a bill that directly supports U.S. jobs and exports and I look forward to the President signing it into law as soon as possible.”

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December 14 - 21, 2012

Public Pulse

Campbell County Observer

Hat’s what she’s talkin’ about 307-686-6666

1103 E. Boxelder, Suite C Gillette, WY USA 82718

Gas Tax Hike to Speed Economy over the Fiscal Cliff

A cabal of special interest groups seems to have convinced Wyoming’s governor and more than a few legislators that families need to pay more in gasoline taxes. But with the possibility of a Taxmageddon hitting already overburdened families in January, the last thing the legislature should be doing is hiking fuel taxes. True, Wyoming needs a long-term source of funding for roads, but if politicians really believe road construction and maintenance is part of the fundamental role of government, and they have doubled spending over the past 10 years, and they still don’t have enough money for roads, perhaps the problem is systemic and more money won’t fix it.

This cartoon is free and provided to media outlets and opinion leaders by the Wyoming Liberty Group for reprint with attribution. The Wyoming Liberty Group is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, non-partisan research organization. The Group’s mission is to prepare citizens for informed, active and confident involvement in local and state government and to provide a venue for understanding public issues in light of constitutional principles and government accountability. If you have any questions please contact Maureen Bader at 307-632-7020.

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Public Pulse

Campbell County Observer

December 14 - 21, 2012

Bold Republic Weekly An Open Letter to Senator Barasso

By Glenn Woods

Dear Senator Barasso, I’m still trying to figure out why we say “Dear” at the beginning of a letter. It’s not like you are my sweetheart, and thank GOD for that. That’s why I actually start most of my letters with “Hello!” Less formal and I don’t have to call someone “Dear!”

Senator, I am writing you because, for the life of me, I still cannot figure out why you voted for that U.N. bill that came your way a week or so ago. I know that Senator Enzi voted against it. But I don’t think his reasons for voting against it were any better than your reasons for voting for it.

You remember the bill, I’m sure: U.N. Treaty: Rights of Persons with Disabilities.

Like most legislation that comes across your desk these days it has an Orwellian name that is just the opposite of what the true intention of the legislation is all about. In most cases the names of these bills are meant to mask the true intention of the bill. The name sounds good, so who could possibly vote against it?

Senator, did you read the bill? I’m only asking because, as we know, legislation comes your way so fast and furious, no pun intended, that there is no way you can possibly read every bill before you vote on the number of bills that

come before you every day.

I also ask if you have read it because, if you had, there are parts of this bill, which are also part of a treaty, and that should have made your hair stand up on end.

Article 18, Section 2 states that all “children with disabilities shall be registered immediately after birth.”

Senator Barasso, why are we registering children at birth with the U.N.?

First, there is no reason that children should be registered with anyone for any reason, but that is another topic for another time. If you think that children with disabilities should be registered at birth then, by all mean, please, let’s handle that issue within our own government. This is not something that the U.N. should be handling for us.

You see, with all due respect Senator, It seems that you need to be reminded that the United States is a Sovereign nation. This means that we answer to no one but ourselves. If the U.N. has a problem with the way we handle things here in the great U.S.A., tuff buttkins.

So if I was to have a child with a disability, and I do not register the child with the U.N., do I go to jail? Please do not tell me that I will face a U.N. court or I’m likely to blow a head gasket.

The U.N. resolution also states that these children “shall have the right from birth to a name, the right to acquire a nationality, and, as far as possible, the right to know and be cared for by their parents.”

Ok, let’s take the first part of that, first. What’s this bit about children having the right to have a name? Has that been a problem? Are children with disabilities having problems with getting names out of their parents? Or is it just that it’s a problem in the rest of the world, because I’ve never heard of such a thing here in the good ol’ U.S.A. The second part opens up lawsuits later in life. This can be a problem because sometimes a child is born to someone who cannot care for the child, and the child has a disability. So if mom put the poor soul up for adoption can that child come back later in life and sue the mom?

I could no on picking this apart but I think you get the idea.

Even if this international treaty had been written well, and it was not, I would have to say that any senator who had read it and cared about the sovereignty of this nation would have voted against it. If we the people of this great nation think that there needs to be changes in how we

treat children with disabilities within our borders, then we will deal with it within our borders. We may fight amongst ourselves, but we are still family.

The United Nations was originally set up to be nothing more than a place where nations met to try and iron out our disputes, among nations. It was never meant to be a governing body.

Senator Barasso, be wary of anything that comes from the U.N. these days. They are attempting to become an international government. THE International government. They are attempting to tax sovereign people in foreign lands and rule them through international law. International Law

should be an Oxymoron.

It was bad enough when both President Bush and President Obama took us to war, and thought that they needed the permission of the U.N. far worse when President Obama did not ask congress but thought

he needed to ask permission of the U.N. --Senator, time to put the brakes on this.

Next time a U.N. treaty/ law lands on your desk don’t even bother reading it.

VOTE AGAINST IT!

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Joke of the week Submitted by Connie Jossie

Veteran of the Month: SSG Wade Berg

Staff Sergeant Wade Berg grew up in Chippewa Falls WI, and in the middle of his senior year of High School (1990), Berg joined the Army. After basic training he was sent to Aberdeen proving grounds Maryland and helped with shipping equipment for desert storm and finished AIT training.

He attended Wyoming Tech while in the Wyoming National Guard.

In December 2003, Berg was deployed to Iraq for Operation Iraqi Freedom, and returned home in February 2005. While there, he was part of the Combat Patrol Team, a nine soldier team that provided protection to escort units, supplies, or soldiers within the country. Their main area was Tikrit, but made many trips to other

“Dating VS. Marriage”

When you are dating..... Farting is never an issue.

When you are married ....You make sure there’s nothing flammable near your husband at all times.

cities where over 300 missions were completed. During the 300 missions, there were no casualties or loss of military equipment. Berg was recently awarded the esteemed Combat Action Badge for his service in Iraq. Berg now lives in Chippewa Falls with his wife Pamela and two sons. He has worked for Nuss Truck & Equipment for 13 years. His time serving was complete in 2007 as a Staff Sergeant and the Section Sergeant in charge of the Motor Pool.

Berg is very proud to have served in the Army along with so many other soldiers. Berg volunteers at the VFW with fund raisers and events that support the Troops and Units.

When you are dating..... He takes you out to have a good time.

When you are married ....He brings home a 6 pack, and says “What are you going to drink?”

When you are dating..... A Single bed for 2 isn’t THAT bad.

When you are married ....A King size bed feels like an army cot.

When you are dating..... You picture the two of you together, growing old together.

When you are married ....You wonder who will die first.

When you are dating..... Just looking at him makes you feel all “mushy.”

When you are married ....When you look at him, you want to claw his eyes out.

When you are dating..... He knows what the “hamper” is.

When you are married ....The floor will suffice as a dirty clothes storage area.

When you are dating..... He likes to “discuss” things.

When you are married ....He develops a “blank” stare.

When you are dating..... He calls you by name.

When you are married ....He calls you “Hey” and refers to you when speaking to others as “She.”

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Public Pulse

Campbell County Observer

Welfare for Delta Passengers Dear Editor, It has been reported in the Casper Star Tribune that the Campbell County commissioners have approved a $1,700,000 subsidy to be paid to SkyWest to continue operating two roundtrips per day between Salt Lake City and the GilletteCampbell County airport for another year. The reported subsidy will guarantee at least a 5% profit to Delta to continue operations.

In other words, the taxpayers of Wyoming are subsidizing air travelers about $160 for each GCC/SLC round trip. This amounts to more than 40% of the actual cost of the flight being paid for by taxpayers.

Where’s the outrage?

When the federal government handed out TARP money to Wall Street, citizens were outraged. But when tax handouts benefit Campbell County elites who can afford to use the Delta Connection to save a couple of hours of driving, it’s OK??? Not in my book.

I’m outraged! And you should be too, particularly because the legislature is planning to increase gasoline and diesel highway fuel taxes 10 cents per gallon in January. Just remember when you are paying that extra 10 cents per gallon at the pump, it is helping to provide welfare to Delta passengers using the Gillette airport.

Instead of raising fuel taxes 10 cents, the legislature and the county commissioners should stop this welfare scheme for air travelers, and instead use that money to build new roads and pay for highway maintenance.

By Don Wills – Wyoming Country Party Chairman From Publisher Nicholas De Laat: I just looked up that article online and was also somewhat appalled.

Unfortunately I haven’t had the time from receiving your letter to talk with some of our commissioners about it. One problem with finding news, is do you have the whole story? That has been a complaint about many even other local media sources for some time now, is the print of wrong information, mis-information, or lack of information. As a matter of fact, we printed a letter to the editor last week in the Observer where a local resident corrected us on the Emergency Response Management and how it got started. It was a wonderful letter full if information that we didn’t not know about when we printed the original article. Now, if it is true and the county is giving a subsidy for a private company to make a profit and operate, that is NOT where I want my tax dollars to go. I believe in tax breaks and business deals between private and government entities, but I will never agree with a subsidy.

I will do some research this week and talk to some people, and I will print the “whole story” in next week’s issue for everyone’s information.

President Obama, the hypocrite

Dear Editor, President Obama has warned Syria that the country would face consequences if it uses chemical weapons. He sounds pretty firm, right? You would thus think that Mr. Obama is against chemical weapon use. But I say that he does not oppose all chemical weapon use and, in fact, supports one in particular: saline abortion.

This injection into the womb of the mother causes the lungs and skin of the unborn baby to burn severely, leading to its death.

Sounds like torture, right?

I thought Mr. Obama opposed torture. Oh, that’s

right — unborn babies don’t count as human beings because of their size and location.

Melissa Ohden is a survivor of a failed saline abortion. Go to melissaohden. com to read her story and learn about her pro-life activism. If it were up to Mr. Obama, Ms. Ohden would have been left for dead after she was born alive. She wouldn’t have been given medical care. As a state senator, Mr. Obama opposed Illinois’ Born Alive Infant Protection Act. He can come up with excuses why he voted this way, but the truth speaks loudly.

Before we worry about Syria’s president, let’s point a finger at our own.

MIKE RACHIELE From Publisher Nicholas De Laat: Well, no matter how you feel about abortion, these are two different issues. Linking how we deal with foreign affairs to domestic policy is way off.

How you deal with a coworker is not how you deal with your children. Abortion is a very hot topic in the U.S., but it is a different topic than the president of Syria. Have you ever seen the after effects of a chemical weapon? I have only seen pictures, but what I saw was horrific just in the sheer numbers of dead and how they died because of a decision from one person to create a mass amount of suffering on a scale that is unimaginable. I’m sorry, I know that you can try compare that to the death of an infant, but not hundreds of thousands of people in a push of a button…I just can’t see your comparison to be a good one. Thanks for writing in, but I would suggest that you stick to one subject at a time. I think you will get more people to listen.

Conservatism is Dead

Dear Editor, In the aftermath of this year’s elections, there appears to be heightening concern and discussion about the cultural transformation under way in the country. Conservatives flail about, wondering how this can all be reversed so conservative principles might be broadly understood and applied. However, there seems to be something of a chicken-or-egg conundrum. If conservatism itself can’t transform the culture, how is the transformation to be realized?

There are very few commentators who will even attempt to discuss our cultural crisis comprehensively in theological terms, thinking that would limit the discussion and be polarizing. This may be true, but the endpoint of all serious discussions must center on faith. Denying or ignoring this fact means we never resolve any argument with the truth. We can all talk endlessly about the excellence of conservative principles, but without the help of faith, it will in the end prove to be nothing but talk.

It must be clearly understood that leftism is, after all, a form of religion. Its beliefs and tenets appeal naturally and delightfully to all the base and selfglorifying tendencies of human beings. Conservatism cannot possibly defeat this with a simple set of empirical propositions. It is a fundamental aspect of human nature that people are religious beings. If pragmatic self-actualization, economic self-interest or some similar formulation is represented as the core of conservatism, it will be impotent. Secular, nontheological conservatism is an empty suit. It will not command deep loyalty without a real and far more profound supporting faith.

Many conservatives seem to think that some simple adherence to the Constitution will save us.

Letters to the Editor

Do conservatives understand that the Constitution could not have been written outside of a Christian context? Many churches in our day seem content to be practically doctrinefree entities. They concern themselves mainly with appearing to provide people with golden tickets to Willy Wonka’s Chocolate Factory in the sky when they die.

If secular conservatives and libertarians think they can transform a culture with principles and morality detached from faith, or with the tasteless gruel of intellectual policy positions, they will never capture the hearts of men.

TODD LEWIS

From Publisher Nicholas De Laat: “Do conservatives understand that the Constitution could not have been written outside of a Christian context?” Yes. One common mis-conception about our constitution is that it was wrote based on the Christian faith. Our founding fathers were Christians as I am today, but they believed in the separation of the laws of god and the laws of men.

Thomas Jefferson thought his greatest achievement was the Virginia Constitution, where he fathered the separation of Church and State, and creating freedom of religion. The most devout Christian of our founding fathers, John Adams, believed that everyone must live under the laws of God, but we must decide our laws of society.

You also seem to be saying that conservatives are not faith based. I hate to break it to you, but most conservatives I know are very faith-driven. Will an adherence to the Constitution save us? Absolutely. It is the ignoring of the Constitution that has ruined us with bills like the Patriot act, the overregulation of businesses, and more. Will conservatives ever capture the hearts of men? Well, when the money runs out (17 trillion in dept now, right?) and the jobs aren’t there, they will have to.

Right to work won’t work

“high road” strategy. Recent studies identify high performance workplaces as those that are able to innovate and successfully respond to change. The evidence is clear that unions, working in cooperation with management, actually enhance high performance workplace initiatives by coordinating the introduction of new technology, providing training and retraining, facilitating communication and providing clear channels for resolving production and personnel problems. The auto industry is a good example of a high performance workplace.

Unions are instrumental to this high road strategy.

That’s right; today’s unions are a key ingredient for high productivity, high wages and high profitability. These are the workplaces that the state should be trying to grow and attract. By contrast, right-to-work exemplifies the “low road” strategy.

A 2011 study by economists at Ohio State, Penn State and Oklahoma State compared state-level economic performance from 2000 to 2007. They explored differences between states that adopted high road policies with those that adopted the low road strategy. After controlling for other policy effects, states with right-towork had lower rates of employment growth and lower levels of per capita income.

In addition, right-to-work threatens the very benefits that collective bargaining provides. By allowing individuals to opt out of paying for services that they are still able to consume, rightto-work undermines the logic of shared responsibility. Right-to-work sanctions free-riding behavior – consuming a service without paying for it. This is analogous to allowing homeowners to opt out of paying their local taxes while still being able to freely partake of police and fire protection, garbage pickup and road repairs. These are community services that require that each of us pay our fair share.

Right-to-work legislation is contrary to the principles of a one-person one-vote

Dear Editor, The legislature and the governor’s support for right-to-work legislation is premised on two notions: (1) right-to-work is a freedom of choice issue and (2) right-to-work promotes economic growth and job creation. Let’s consider each of these arguments.

Unions come into being when a majority of the workers vote in favor of union representation.

Unions are the outcome of a democratic - one worker one vote - system. Workers who are unhappy with the union can organize a decertification election if they so choose. If this sounds familiar, elections with the ability to recall unpopular representatives, it should.

That’s how our democratic system works.

Right-to-work legislation distorts this democratic process under the guise of freedom of choice. Unions bargain for wages and benefits for all the workers that they are elected to represent. Unions don’t represent only those workers who voted for them. Union wages and benefits are paid to all workers in the bargaining unit. The facts are that workers represented by unions receive higher wages and more generous benefit. In essence, unions provide a collective good to unionized workers. This, in turn, benefits the communities in which workers spend their wages and the government that collects more in tax revenue.

Unions also have been found to increase productivity and profitability in those companies that adopt a high wage, high performance work organization. This is the

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December 14 - 21, 2012

democracy, abandons social responsibility and puts Michigan squarely on the low road of economic development. Unions have changed, it’s time for politicians to crack the books and learn about how to encourage the creation of more high performance companies of the 21st century rather than clinging to outmoded ideas that attempt to recreate the 19th century workplace.

Bruce Pratrinski – Michigan From Publisher Nicholas De Laat: Wow, are you wrong. Wyoming is a right to work state. Our workers, say at the mines, are paid as good or better than union workers. They have as good or better retirement, vacation, and benefits. But we don’t get money forced out of our paycheck that may go to a campaign contribution for the person we are voting against. Our workers can’t shut down a company. Look at Little Debbie. Workers demanded too much, the company had to follow, and now no-one has a job. Unions are the main reason companies are shutting down and moving the Michigan factories to China or elsewhere. They can’t afford the ridicules taxes that the state government levies on them along with the high demands (in a serious recession by the way) that the unions place on them.

Beyond Safety and discrimination, there are no rights of workers, and unions place the companies trying to keep these workers employed into a lose lose situation. If unions work so well, then why is “right to work” Wyoming in the black with a low unemployment rate and one of the highest

med. Wages in the country, while Michigan is extremely in the red, has one of the highest unemployment rates, and now one of the lowest med. Incomes? I don’t want to hear ideology, I want to see what works with results. Want to know how I see these results?

6 years ago I packed up from “poor” Michigan and moved to Wyoming. Since then I have held great jobs, have bought a house, have made a comfortable living, ran for office, and started 3 businesses while getting involved in our great community. How is that for results?

Christmas list to Santa Obama

Dear Editor, Please continue with all of the entitlements you have given for the past four years: food assistance, bailouts of the financial sector, Solyndra, extended welfare etc. I would also like to add to my Christmas list. (I can say Christmas right, or is this politically incorrect?) I’m sure that the one-fourth of wealthy who don’t pay their share of taxes and the bottom one-fourth who don’t pay their share of taxes and receive most of the wonderful entitlements will have a great Christmas. But Santa Obama, you seem to have forgotten the middle class who pay for your wonderful entitlements and don’t have the entitlements under their Christmas tree.

Robert Hall From Publisher Nicholas De Laat: It took me about 5 straight minutes of laughing to finally respond to this letter! Too funny, Thanks for writing in.

“Friends, family, and spouses have many rainy days through your relationship with them. You just have to remember that rain makes things grow…”

– Nicholas De Laat

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Vietnam War Questionaire

Thanks for participating in this survey and taking the time out of your busy schedule to recall feelings and perceptions about an event that took place so long ago. Space is provided to allow room to record your thoughts and feelings. Please feel free to use additional paper if necessary.

The information you provide could be used (not a promise) to complete a book to mark the 50th Anniversary of the Vietnam War in 2013, but would more probably be incorporated in a longer treatment of Wyoming’s involvement in the war and tentatively called: “Wyoming Wind, Asian Breezes: Wyoming Heroes who fought and died in Southeast Asia.”

1. Do you find a “meaning” to the war? Lessons learned? Did the meaning of the war change over the years for you?

2. Did the United States win or lose the Vietnam conflict? plain)

(Please ex-

3. How do you feel about young men and women who participated in that war?

Print Name

Signature

City/Town

Date Completed

Contact: Ron Akin (307) 462-1120 cell or 237-5219 e-mail address: rhinoakin@earthlink.net Note: Completion of survey, and by signing and dating signifies the release and unlimited use by the author of your words and thoughts. This action constitutes the authorization of release of your words into the public domain.

Return By Mail: 3311 Stagecoach Drive, Casper, WY 82604

Public Pulse

Campbell County Observer

On the Contrary...

On the Contrary is a weekly segment in the Observer formatted in the form of a print debate. The opinions and views stated here are not necessarily the views of the two debaters, as many times you will have one playing “devil’s advocate.” This week, Nick is the devil’s advocate.

To become a guest debater, email CampbellCountyObserver@gmail.com

The Issue: Drug Testing People on State Assistance

Nicholas DeLaat (Publisher) Against

Chris Paulk (Owner of Carpet Express Direct in Gillette) For

Chris: I believe that you should have mandatory drug testing if you are on any kind of State assistance. If I have to take drug tests to get a job to pay the taxes to fund that assistance, people receiving welfare should have to take a drug test to receive my hard earned money.

Nick: Well first of all, there are many jobs that don’t drug test and don’t have too. Let’s bring this part of the debate down to our level. I own a newspaper, and do not drug test those employees. However I also own Powder River Roofing, and those employees are tested regularly. The reason is cost related to necessity. If employees that work for my newspaper do drugs on their own time (although I want to make it clear that I know they don’t…this is just an example) they can’t hurt themselves on the job because of it. The most dangerous part of owning a newspaper is paper cuts and customer complaints, though I am proud to say we have very few. It would cost me too much to drug test my newspaper employees. However with Powder River Roofing, the cost does not outweigh the necessity of creating the safest environment possible in a dangerous line of work.

You own Carpet Express Direct, and I am sure that you deal with this. So you don’t always have to take a drug test to get a job.

Chris: Right, but when I bust my butt all day, I am not doing it so these people can buy cable TV., booze, drugs, tattoos, and more. The intention of State Assistance is for making sure that you don’t starve in bad times, not to make a career out of it.

How will they ever get off state assistance if they can’t pass a drug test and get a job? I am sure that most tax payers agree that we can have some state assistance to make sure that unfortunate people don’t starve or freeze to death, but also to get them off of it as fast as possible to become productive members of society. Again, how are you going to get them off if they can’t pass a drug test to get a job?

Nick: I have to agree with you on that. It does make me sick to my stomach to see people using the system. Yes, if you are on any kind of welfare, you should not be able to afford cable t.v., drugs, alcohol, or any other “luxuries.” It is simply enough for you to survive. I also agree that steps should be taken to try to get people off of assistance, via. Education, job seeking help, and more. But drug testing may not be the best answer. Since Florida passed the mandatory drug testing for assistance law, 4,086 applicants took the test and only 108 (2.6%) failed. That means that the cost of testing ($35.00) of the full amount of applicants was $45,780 loss to the state. Now you are spending even more money on these people who are collecting welfare of some kind. Does that mean that you don’t mind the cost going up to fund these already disastrous programs?

Chris: There are many things that have to happen to fix our welfare system, and many things that can be done to reduce cost. But yes, I am willing to spend that extra money with my tax dollars because my overall goal is to minimize the welfare recipients by getting them off assistance and into jobs. You won’t be able to do that without drug testing. Also, the welfare recipients that do drugs while on assistance usually make a life or career from state assistance, law suites, and other easy ways to do as little as possible in life. Then they teach their children how to live like that too. I do not believe in entitlement, and I do not want a dollar of my tax money to fund these people’s lives.

The extra cost of the drug testing is worth the end goal, which is to not have people needing assistance. Now that is a future to work for!

Nick: So you’re willing to take the loss, but my question is how do you propose to fund this loss? The State of Wyoming has already had to make cuts across the board in spending.

Our legislators are about to hammer us with a large fuel tax raise, which is going to hurt businesses like ours pretty bad, not to mention our family wallets. The only way to fund this loss that the state would have to take would be by raising another tax somewhere else? Well, we are taxed enough. I know that I am being taxed literally to my limit, and all these excess taxes are making it very hard to start up my businesses and create more jobs, which these jobs I create keep people from being on welfare. So isn’t it better to not put a higher tax burden on both of us and our companies so we can create more jobs? Wouldn’t that help more?

Chris: The issue here is that when people use welfare for the reasons intended, which is to only get them out of the financial hole they are in, they eventually do and then through their taxes pay back into that system. But when people use it as a career, and they are doing drugs with that money, they are stealing from the public at large. They are stealing from you and me, and wasting that money that we worked hard to earn. It is worth the tax hike to fund the ability for people to not use the system, to not waste my money, and in a sense – to stop stealing from my child’s plate. I do agree with you that we are very over taxed, and more tax burdens are never a good answer. I agree that if the government would quit dipping their greedy fingers in my finances for wasteful spending, un-needed projects, and more I could create jobs help the economy, but this I am willing to pay for.

Nick: I got nothing…This devil’s advocate thing is hard…

Wyoming State Loan and Investment Board approves $1.5 Community Readiness grants The Wyoming State Loan and Investment Board (SLIB) today approved a $1.5 million Community Readiness grant request by the city of Cheyenne to install the required in¬frastructure for a DataPlant that incorporates fuel cell technology on a site located on the city of Cheyenne’s Dry Creek Water Reclamation Facility. The project will test the integration of a fuel cell with a modular IT container powered from available biogas methane created from the treatment process at the Dry Creek facility.

The Dry Creek Water Reclamation Facility recycles common waste bi-products, creating a stream of biogas methane. This biogas is used as the fuel for a fuel cell from the company FuelCell Energy. The Fuel Cell converts the biogas into electricity to power the Microsoft IT server container. It is anticipated that this project will demonstrate that the data

plant concept can provide a more cost and energy efficient way to power data centers.

Brian Janous, Data Center Utility Architect, Datacenter Advanced Development for Microsoft, attended today’s SLIB meeting and spoke about the importance of partnerships in projects such as this.

“Since I’ve been at Microsoft for the last year or so I’ve really been focused on developing strategic partnerships across the industry to work with entities like the Western Research Institute and also find government agencies like Cheyenne LEADS and the Wyoming Business Council that can help bring these projects to fruition,” Janous said. “It’s been really refreshing, here in Wyoming, to find a group of people who are enthusiastic about these issues and are willing to develop a project that finds that particular alignment of

Westover Road Closure

Westover Road will be closed to through traffic from Burma Avenue to Westside Drive The City of Gillette’s Utilities Department announced the closure of Westover Road beginning tomorrow, Tuesday, December 11th until Monday, December 17th. This closure is for work related to the Madison Pipeline project. (Please note: initially the closure was to begin today, Monday, December 10th.)

Westover Road closed to through traffic

Westover Road from Burma Avenue west to Westside Drive (Big Horn Tire) will be closed to through traffic from Tuesday, December 11th until Monday, December 17th. Access to Big Horn Tire will be maintained. Metz Drive will not be accessible from Westover Road; however, drivers wanting to access Metz Drive will be able to use Burma Avenue and access Metz Drive from the south - see photo of traffic control.

Retraction

In the last edition of the Campbell County Observer, the owner made a typo mistake that was not caught in time for print. In his “Remember Pearl Harbor” article, it was stated that Pearl Harbor was 61 years ago. This number was wrong.

Pearl Harbor was 71 years ago.

Thank you for your understanding.

interests that makes something like this work.”

Business Council CEO Bob Jensen added that point, saying Wyoming’s interest in projects such as this and the ability to move quickly makes all the difference.

“We knew they were looking at other states for this project, but we were able to pull our team together quickly, work with Microsoft and put a plan together that made sense for Wyoming and Microsoft,” he said.

“We’re excited about this project because it’s another way that Wyoming can show it’s on the cutting edge of technology.”

The SLIB is made up of the five statewide elected officials: Gov. Matt Mead, Secretary of State Max Maxfield, State Treasurer Mark Gordon, State Auditor Cynthia Cloud, and State Superintendent of Public Instruction Cindy Hill.

“The duty of a patriot is to protect his country from its government.”

- Thomas Paine

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What the public thought: Do believe in drug testing for welfare recipients?

83% yes 14% no 3% Not Sure Vote on next week’s “On the Contrary” issue by going to www.CampbellCountyObserver.net

December 14 - 21, 2012

15

The Campbell County Observer

Sports Report

Campbell County Observer

December 14 - 21, 2012

Joke of the week Submitted by Jake Huize

“Here is a free puppy”

ROBIN KUNTZ WARD THREE

LOUISE CARTER-KING WARD ONE

EVERETT BOSS WARD TWO

KEVIN MCGRATH WARD ONE

Council to consider Softball/Baseball Complex

Council To Consider Softball/Baseball Complex Next week at Monday’s Gillette City Council Meeting, the council is expected to consider a bid award for a Gillette softball/baseball complex project to Van Ewing Construction. The long discussed project at the Field of Dreams site will be contingent upon the approval of a fiscal year 2012/13 budget amendment. Engineering and Development Services Director Dustin Hamilton said there are a variety of construction options for council members to consider.

“There were 15 different schedules that we got prices for, some of which were alternate some were not.”-Hamilton The council is expected to consider whether or not to build the west fields which would be fields 1 through 4. The council would then have to consider other aspects of the project including paving, drainage, water, and sanitary sewer.

Whatever the combination of construction options, City Administrator Carter Napier said he was not comfortable with the council considering any number for the four fields (and additional infrastructure) above 9.9 million dollars.

Council members remained split in the discussion of the topic last night.

Council President Kevin McGrath as well as Councilmen Everett Boss and Robin Kuntz remain opposed to the project entirely. McGrath said he’d like to see the focus of the council to be paying off any debt, while Boss voiced concern that the whole project continues to move too fast for his liking. Gillette Mayor Tom Murphy and Councilwoman Louis Carter-King continue to be advocates for the softball/baseball field complex, saying the growth of Gillette makes it a priority. Council member Ted Jerred has shown growing opposition to the project and last night coun-

cil member John Opseth said only that he wanted until Wednesday to look at the numbers more closely.

Public Information Officer Joe Lunne said its important to note that what will happen with the softball/ baseball complex or other projects at the Field of Dreams has not yet been decided.

“We are working on putting in the infrastructure in the softball and baseball fields at this point. People talk about the Field of Dreams, that was the planning process, that’s done, so lets move on from that.

Now we are dealing with Dustin and his group. The Public Works folks are working on getting bidding to put in some fields which was the crux of why we started this project in the first place.”

Lunne added that he felt there are still some misconceptions about the Field of Dreams and the softball/ baseball complex project.

“I think the biggest mis-

conception is that we are going to do the whole thing at once. We are looking at phasing and even on this phase obviously, with the bids and the way they broke it down, that could be phased in too.”---Lunne Next Monday’s Gillette City Council meeting is scheduled for 7pm.

The President is running down the street one day, and he sees a little girl who is giving away puppies that her dog just had.

He goes up to the girl and says, “Little girl, I think that it’s wonderful that you’re doing such a good thing.”

The little girl says, “Thank you, Mr. Clinton.

Would you like a puppy? They’re Democrats.”

Bill declines and jogs onward. The next day Billy jogs past the same girl and decides to talk to her again. “You know what, little girl? I think I’ll take one of those puppies after all, seeing as how they’re Democrats.”

The girl says, “I’m sorry Mr. Clinton, but they’re not Democrats any more. They’re Republican now.”

Bill says, “They are? How do you know? As a matter of fact, how did you know that they were Democrats at first to begin with?”

She says, “Well, just after they were born they were Democrats, but now their eyes are open.”

Submitted by James Phillip Grabrick

Where is this picture taken?

Find out in next week’s Campbell County Observer

Where Is This Picture sponsored by:

TOM MURPHY MAYOR

TED JERRED WARD THREE

JOHN OPSETH WARD TWO

Cost of Government Day 2012 Annual Report State Tax Increases

In recent years, most states increased taxes to increase spending even during economic downturns. This report compiles a list of tax increases by state from FY2003-FY2012. The list is based on data from the National Association of State Budget Officers (NASBO) with three adjustments. First, we compounded the tax increases to reflect tax hikes adopted since FY2003 which have to be paid in successive years.

Second, we adjusted each state’s tax increase by population to produce a better comparison across states. Third, the taxes for each year are indexed so all tax increases are stated in terms of 2012 dollars.

The index shows that this year, as in previous years, New Jersey is the leader among all states in terms of tax increases.

Since FY2003 the Garden State increased taxes per resident by $5,721.82 for a total net tax increase of over $49.9 billion. Connecticut, Rhode Island, New York, Nevada, Delaware, Tennessee and Minnesota also suffered per capita tax increases of over $2,000 in the same period.

From 2003-2012 only nine states reduced their taxes. This group is led by Idaho, North Dakota and Florida, all of which reduced their taxes by over $350 per capita.

North Dakota, as in 2011, leads the states in reducing taxes. Since 2003, North Dakota has reduced taxes $428.85 per capita. Over that period, this is a net tax cut for North Dakotans of $280 million.

This year, all nine states that reduced their taxes over the FY 2003-2012 period also reduced their taxes in 2012.10 For the first time since 2008, net taxes decreased across the states in FY2012. In total, states experienced a $596 million tax cut, less than last year’s tax increases of $6.4 billion. However, many states are still attempting to squeeze their taxpayers to fund excessive spending.

For example, the Maryland House of Delegates passed the Budget Reconciliation and Financing Act (BRFA) in May 2012. The act results in a $300 million tax increase on Marylanders. The BRFA extends the Maryland “Millionaire Tax” to sin-

gle filers making over $100,000 and joint filers making over $150,000.11 This tax hike alone will force Marylanders to work an additional 7 hours for COGD next year.

More popular than ever with politicians are “sin taxes,” or excise taxes on certain products that policymakers can target under the guise of social welfare efforts. The most constant targets are normally tobacco and sprits or wine, but recently sugar and soda have gained the ire of revenuehungry lawmakers as well.

Maryland’s budget also included two tax increases on tobacco. The tax on smokeless tobacco will rise from 15 percent to 30 percent and the tax on “little cigars” will leap from 15 percent to 70 percent of wholesale. Similarly, in Illinois, Governor Pat Quinn recently signed into law a $1a- pack cigarette tax increase to bankroll the state’s unstable Medicaid program.

In addition to the increase in the cigarette tax, the legislation also doubles the taxes on other types of tobacco. Estimates show that corporate tax, personal income tax and sales tax make up 80 percent of state tax revenue. In 2012, thirteen states cut their corporate income taxes, constituting the large change in revenue measures from the previous year; these efforts resulted in a $1.3 billion net corporate income tax cut. However, personal income taxes are on the rise, with $571 million in increased taxes on personal income going into effect in 2012. Finally, while sales taxes decreased by $690.5 million, targeted excise taxes on alcohol and cigarettes increased by $97.1 million and $58.1 million respectively.

Who’s Brand is this in Campbell County?

Find out in next week’s Campbell County Observer

16

10 Reasons to Advertise 1. Advertise to Reach New Customers.

Your market changes constantly. New families in the area mean new customers to reach. People earn more money, which means changes in lifestyles and buying habits. The shopper who wouldn't consider your business a few years ago may be a prime customer now. Remember...20% of families will move this year, 5 million people will be married and 4 million babies will be born*.

2. Advertise continuously.

Consumers don't have the loyalty they once did. You must advertise to keep pace with your competition. The National Retail Merchants Association states: "Mobility and non-loyalty are rampant. Businesses must promote to get former customers to return and to seek new ones.

3. Advertise to Remain With Shoppers Through the Buying Process.

Many people postpone buying decisions. They often go from store to store comparing prices, quality and service. Advertising must reach them steadily through the entire decision-making process. Your name must be fresh in their minds when they ultimately decide to buy.

4. Advertise Because Your Competition is Advertising.

There are only so many consumers in the market who are ready to buy at any one time. You'll need to advertise to keep regular customers and to counterbalance the advertising of your competition. You must advertise to keep your share of customers or you will lose them to the more aggressive competitors.

5. Advertise Because it Pays Off Over a Long Period.

Advertising gives you a long-term advantage over competitors who cut back or cancel advertising. A five-year survey of more than 3,000 companies found...Advertisers who maintain or expand advertising over a five-year period see their sales increase an average of 100%. Companies, which cut advertising, averaged sales decreases of 45%.

6. Advertise to Generate Traffic.

Continuous traffic to your business is the first step toward sales increases and expanding your customer base. The more people who contact your business, the more possibilities you have to make the sale and sell additional merchandise or services. For every 100 items that shoppers plan to buy, they make 30 unanticipated "in the store" purchases, an NRMA survey shows.

7. Advertise to Make More Sales.

Advertising works! Businesses that succeed are usually strong, steady advertisers. Look around. You'll find the most aggressive and consistent advertisers in your market are the most successful.

8. Advertise Because There is Always Business to Generate.

Your doors are open. Staff are on the payroll. Even the slowest days produce sales. As long as you're in business, you've got overhead to meet and new people to reach. Advertising can generate customers now...and in the future.

9. Advertise to Keep a Healthy Positive Image.

In a competitive market, rumors and bad news travel fast. Advertising corrects misleading gossip, punctures "overstated" bad news. Advertising that is vigorous and positive can bring shoppers into the marketplace, regardless of the economy.

10. Advertise to Maintain Employee Morale.

When advertising and promotion are suddenly cut or canceled, your staff may become alarmed and demoralized. They may start false rumors in an honest belief that your business is in trouble. Positive advertising boosts morale. It gives your staff strong additional support.

Sports Report

December 14 - 21, 2012

Gillette Camels - Boys Basketball

Campbell County Observer

Tough loss for Wild on the road The Gillette Wild Junior Hockey Tier III team traveled to Billings, MT on Saturday and fell to the Bulls on their home rink 3-2.

The game was scoreless after the 1st period as goalies Nick Vittori (Gil) and Nic Wackerly stop a combined 16 shots, but then at 3:51 mark of the 2nd period Wild captain Tyler Cavan got the scoring started on a short handed goal assisted on by Taylor Motsinger. Billings grabbed a 2-1 lead heading into the final period thanks to goals by Jarrett Stark and John Vant.

Then at the 7:16 mark of the 3rd period Darren Banks knotted the game at 2 on assists by Alex King and Adam Pecht only to see the Bulls get the game winner just over a minute later off the stick of Stark once again.

For the game Billings played very intelligent as they committed just 2 penalties and Gillette was unable to capitalize on either power play, while the Bulls scored on 2 of the 7 power plays given to them by the Wild.

Vittori finished the game stopping 24 of the 27 shots he faced while Wackerly stopped 22 of the 24 shots he faced to earn the win.

Next up for the Wild they’ll be back out on the road this weekend for two games in Great Falls, MT with both games starting at 7:30pm. The Wild are 3-0 against the American this year and have won those games by a combined score of 16-7.

For more on the Gillette Wild go to www.gillettewildhockey.com

Gillette Camels - Girls Basketball

Girls Basketball Rankings Some teams are still trying to figure things out, while others are fine tuning their game plans.

Here are the latest girl’s basketball standings, as of December 9th.

4A East:

Gillette 4-0 Sheridan 3-0 East 5-1 Central 3-3 Laramie 2-2 South 1-3

2A Northeast:

Tongue River 5-0 Wright 3-5 Big Horn 2-4 Sundance 1-3 Moorcroft 1-5

“People ask me what I do in winter when there’s no baseball. I’ll tell you what I do.

I stare out the window and wait for spring.”

- Rogers Hornsby

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2012 Boys Pentathlon results 1 Brandon Troudt 53 Daniel Tolman 66 Colton Bennett 68 Austin Huddleston

0 CEN 16 CAM 16 CAM 14 CAM

Boys Open 100 Free

1 Levi Jensen 2 Tyler Johnson 3 Clayton Larsen 4 Eli Horyza 5 Mason McFarland 6 Conner Dickerson 7 Benjamin Wisdorf 8 Slade Sheaffer 9 Nate Holt 10 Noah Beaver 11 Andrew Belveal 12 Shepard Guerin 13 Nick Mavriplis 14 Chade Hanson 15 Jeremy Young 16 Andrew Apodaca 18 Conner Baldacci 25 Brayden Ely 50 Ty McKeown 52 Koa Fowlke 53 Dakota Mitchell 75 Jarod Antonovich

0 KWH 17 EAS 18 LAR 0 RIV 0 LAR 17 EAS 16 EAS 16 LAR 0 BUF 14 CAM 0 KWH 0 LAR 0 LAR 0 RIV 0 KWH 15 CAM 14 CAM 17 CAM 16 CAM 17 CAM 17 CAM 16 CAM

Boys Open 50 Back

1 Justin Hood 0 CEN 4 Ethan Fuller 14 CAM 25 Casey Brown 15 CAM 34 Kendal Mager 16 CAM 49 Daniel Tolman 16 CAM 0 Brett Brumley 14 CAM 62 Austin Huddleston 14 CAM 67 Colton Bennett 16 CAM

Boys Open 100 Back

1 Nate Holt 5 Noah Beaver 10 Conner Baldacci 15 Andrew Apodaca 18 Brayden Ely 36 Ty McKeown 70 Jarod Antonovich

0 BUF 14 CAM 14 CAM 15 CAM 17 CAM 16 CAM 16 CAM

Boys Open 50 Breast

1 Andrew Ehardt 29 Casey Brown 48 Daniel Tolman 54 Brett Brumley 55 Austin Huddleston 0 Kendal Mager

0 CEN 15 CAM 16 CAM 14 CAM 14 CAM 16 CAM

Boys Open 100 Breast 18 LAR 14 CAM 17 CAM 17 CAM 16 CAM 17 CAM 16 CAM

49.77Y F 50.61Y F 50.62Y F 52.16Y F 52.48Y F 52.56Y F 52.62Y F 52.78Y F 52.84Y F 53.24Y F 53.32Y F 53.83Y F 54.00Y F 54.37Y F 54.38Y F 54.44Y F 55.16Y F 56.00Y F 1:00.74Y F 1:01.50Y F 1:01.60Y F 1:13.14Y F 27.43Y F 29.84Y F 36.96Y F 38.83Y F 42.30Y F 48.14Y F 48.15Y F 53.21Y F 56.75Y F 1:00.58Y F 1:02.15Y F 1:04.30Y F 1:04.58Y F 1:12.12Y F 1:46.32Y F 29.38Y F 40.38Y F 48.35Y F 55.22Y F 56.15Y F 57.89Y F 1:00.86Y F 1:08.76Y F 1:22.52Y F 1:24.04Y F 1:24.26Y F 1:33.40Y F 2:01.21Y F

1 Andrew Ehardt 0 CEN 12 Ethan Fuller 14 CAM 48 Kendal Mager 16 CAM 0 Brett Brumley 14 CAM 0 Daniel Tolman 16 CAM 51 Austin Huddleston 14 CAM 0 Tristan Foster 14 DOU

26.41Y F 30.25Y F 49.73Y F 54.57Y F 55.47Y F 1:03.95Y F NS F

Boys Open 100 Fly

1 Levi Jensen 10 Andrew Apodaca 18 Conner Baldacci 24 Noah Beaver 31 Koa Fowlke 36 Brayden Ely 55 Dakota Mitchell 59 Ty McKeown 68 Jarod Antonovich

0 KWH 15 CAM 14 CAM 14 CAM 17 CAM 17 CAM 17 CAM 16 CAM 16 CAM

Boys Open 50 Free

1 Justin Hood 13 Ethan Fuller 14 Mark Kim 15 Spencer Burkett 16 Josh Black 17 Daniel Starnes 18 Chris Coffelt 19 Reed Cone 20 Luke McIlvain 21 Weston Hager 22 Conrad Farnsworth 23 David Young 23 Kendal Mager 25 Casey Brown 59 Daniel Tolman 61 Brett Brumley 70 Colton Bennett 72 Austin Huddleston

0 CEN 14 CAM 0 CEN 0 CEN 0 KWH 0 KWH 0 CEN 0 CEN 0 CEN 0 CEN 0 NEW 0 CEN 16 CAM 15 CAM 16 CAM 14 CAM 16 CAM 14 CAM

54.99Y F 1:03.59Y F 1:06.04Y F 1:07.64Y F 1:11.38Y F 1:15.00Y F 1:27.24Y F 1:30.15Y F 2:10.03Y F 24.24Y F 26.42Y F 26.54Y F 26.56Y F 26.80Y F 27.30Y F 28.40Y F 28.51Y F 28.93Y F 29.60Y F 29.70Y F 29.84Y F 29.84Y F 29.90Y F 35.92Y F 36.67Y F 39.79Y F 40.92Y F

Boys Open 50 Free

1 Levi Jensen 10 Noah Beaver 12 Andrew Apodaca 14 Conner Baldacci 29 Brayden Ely 39 Ty McKeown 55 Koa Fowlke 55 Dakota Mitchell 70 Jarod Antonovich

0 KWH 14 CAM 15 CAM 14 CAM 17 CAM 16 CAM 17 CAM 17 CAM 16 CAM

Boys Open 1 Meter 6 Dives

17 Kodi MacDonnell 12 Tyler Klamm 11 Ryun Kemerling 10 Anthony Ludwar 7 Alex Carson 6 Jaden Allen

0 SHE 15 CAM 15 CAM 14 CAM 16 CAM 14 CAM

23.17Y F 24.47Y F 24.89Y F 25.07Y F 26.10Y F 27.31Y F 28.70Y F 28.70Y F 32.17Y F 101.10 F 142.05 F 144.50 F 145.40 F 152.65 F 160.35 F

Weekly Sports Trivia Question How many world records does Michael Phelps hold in swimming?

Look in next week’s paper for the answer ** Sponsor our Sports Quiz for $50 per week.

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The Right spot to shop!

307-363-4360 116 Gillette Ave.

Maxi’s Depot

•• Men & Women’s Apparel•• ••Plus Sized Women’s & Big & Tall Men’s•• ••Handcrafted Accessories•• Looking for vendors! (Hand-made products only) See Store for Details

Tue - Thur 11-7 • Fri 11-8 • Sat 12-5

Why Is It? (a/k/a The Advertising Poem) A man wakes up after sleeping under an advertised blanket, on an advertised mattress, pulls off advertised pajamas, bathes in an advertised shower, shaves with an advertised razor, brushes his teeth with advertised toothpaste, washes with advertised soap, puts on advertised clothes, drinks a cup of advertised coffee, drives to work in an advertised car, and then, refuses to advertise, riot Publ believing it doesn’t pay. at Later when business is poor, he advertises it for sale.

Why is it?

17

ing ish

1 Clayton Larsen 6 Noah Beaver 43 Koa Fowlke 47 Brayden Ely 48 Ty McKeown 0 Dakota Mitchell 0 Jarod Antonovich

52.35Y F 1:19.50Y F 1:29.51Y F 1:33.25Y F

Boys Open 50 Fly

P

Boys Open 100 Free

Sports Report

December 14 - 21, 2012

Campbell County Observer

Gillette wrestlers place third at Rapid City Invitational Gillette wrestlers placed third out of 35 teams at the Rapid City Invitational held on Dec. 7-8. Pierre placed first with 215.50 points, while Rapid City Central placed second with 181.50 points, and Gillete scored 175.50 points.

Trent Olson placed first at 106 lbs. with a major decision (16-4) over Tyler Waterson of Spear-LD in the finals. Evan Smith won the 120 lb. weight class with a 1-0 decision in the finals over David Potratz of SFW. Jordan Fischer was the

champion at 152 lbs., with a final win (12-5) over Kasey Klapprodt of RC5.

Lukas Poloncic placed third at 160 lbs., while Kris Miller placed fourth at 145 lbs. and Taylor Barbour placed fourth at 285 lbs. Alex Lacasse placed fifth at 145 lbs. and Luke Sather placed sixth at 220 lbs.

Deavon Mauch placed seventh at 113 lbs. and Haydn Rawlings placed seventh at 160 lbs., while Brady Vogel placed eighth at 132 lbs.

Gillette Relays Results Boys 200 Yard Medley Relay

1 Laramie High School Swim/Dive ‘A’ 1:46.23 1:43.87 20 1) Sheaffer, Slade JR 2) Larsen, Clayton SR 3) McFarland, Mason SR 4) Guerin, Shepard SR 27.20 27.54 25.50 23.63 7 Campbell County High School ‘A’ 1:39.57 2:03.42 12 1) Fuller, Ethan FR 2) McKeown, Ty SO 3) Ely, Brayden JR 4) Brown, Casey SO 29.81 35.55 29.16 28.90 16 Campbell County High School ‘B’ 2:01.37 2:34.48 2 1) Mager, Kendal JR 2) Klamm, Tyler SO 3) Mitchell, Dakota SR 4) Kemerling, Ryun JR 42.61 50.70 30.62 30.55 40.75 42.01 34.14 32.46

Boys 800 Yard Freestyle Relay

1 Cheyenne Central High School ‘A’ 7:41.66 8:01.34 20 1) Troudt, Brandon JR 2) Milmont, Noah SR 3) Martin, Zach JR 4) Hood, Justin SR 27.62 57.45 1:27.79 1:56.86 28.92 1:00.48 1:33.62 2:05.06 27.35 58.09 1:30.67 2:01.63 27.56 58.26 1:28.53 1:57.79 2 Campbell County High School ‘A’ 7:56.81 8:06.13 17 1) Bowersox, David JR 2) Apodaca, Andrew JR 3) Knottnerus, Kory SR 4) Baldacci, Conner FR 25.08 53.67 1:23.66 1:53.76 27.06 59.23 1:32.97 2:06.40 27.51 58.42 1:31.90 2:04.53 26.31 57.03 1:28.89 2:01.44

Boys 400 Yard Medley Relay

1 Cheyenne East High School Boys ‘A’ 4:00.00 4:02.41 20 1) Wisdorf, Ben SO 2) Brown, Robert SO 3) Dickerson, Conner SR 4) Johnson, Tyler SR 27.86 1:00.88 29.45 1:04.77 28.28 1:00.68 24.71 56.08 4 Campbell County High School ‘A’ 3:59.99 4:15.78 15 1) Apodaca, Andrew JR 2) Knottnerus, Kory SR 3) Baldacci, Conner FR 4) Bowersox, David JR 29.51 1:05.87 30.75 1:06.18 29.39 1:05.41 26.36 58.32 42.00 1:26.95

Boys 200 Yard Freestyle Relay

1 Laramie High School Swim/Dive ‘A’ 1:38.23 1:38.08 20 1) Radosevich, Danny JR 2) Guerin, Shepard SR 3) Shields, Austin JR 4) Weatherman, Andy FR 25.04 23.69 24.87 24.48 8 Campbell County High School ‘A’ 1:28.85 1:48.42 11 1) Fuller, Ethan FR 2) McKeown, Ty SO 3) Mitchell, Dakota SR 4) Brown, Casey SO 26.72 26.29 26.67 28.74 18 Campbell County High School ‘B’ 1:32.85 2:09.72 1) Tolman, Daniel JR 2) Allen, Jaden FR 3) Ludwar, Anthony SO 4) Antonovich, Jarod SR 33.18 32.98 33.33 30.23

Weekly Sports Trivia Answer from Last Week Which NFL team started the tradition and has played in every NFL sponsored Thanksgiving Day Game?

Boys 200 Yard Butterfly Relay

1 Campbell County High School ‘A’ 1:43.01 1:46.31 20 1) Apodaca, Andrew JR 2) Baldacci, Conner FR 3) Knottnerus, Kory SR 4) Bowersox, David JR 26.67 26.80 27.65 25.19 13 Campbell County High School ‘B’ NT 2:31.75 4 1) McKeown, Ty SO 2) Mager, Kendal JR 3) Antonovich, Jarod SR 4) Mitchell, Dakota SR 35.44 46.46 39.68 30.17

Detroit Lions

Boys 100 Yard Freestyle Relay

1 Kelly Walsh High School ‘A’ 1) Zimmerman, Austin SR 3) Saunders, Brady JR 23.54 23.15 5 Campbell County High School 1) Knottnerus, Kory SR 3) Brown, Casey SO 23.63 24.48

47.75 46.69 20 2) Custard, Zach SR 4) Marquard, Talon SO

‘A’ 51.01 2) Fuller, Ethan FR 4) Ely, Brayden JR

48.11 14

Boys 200 Yard Backstroke Relay

1 Cheyenne East High School Boys ‘A’ 1:55.00 1:48.36 20 1) Johnson, Tyler SR 2) Marshall, Hunter SO 3) Dickerson, Conner SR 4) Wisdorf, Ben SO 25.21 28.41 27.69 27.05 14 Campbell County High School ‘B’ 2:04.13 2:46.50 3 1) Antonovich, Jarod SR 2) Tolman, Daniel JR 3) Mager, Kendal JR 4) Klamm, Tyler SO 44.96 43.90 40.51 37.13 32.06 37.41 32.94 43.97

Boys 200 Yard Breaststroke Relay

1 Cheyenne East High School Boys ‘A’ 2:10.00 2:06.94 20 1) Brown, Robert SO 2) Vasquez, Carlos JR 3) Johnson, Tyler SR 4) Dickerson, Conner SR 33.22 33.18 31.19 29.35 35.63 47.18 44.03 50.41 12 Campbell County High School ‘A’ 2:08.12 DQ 1) McKeown, Ty SO 2) Ludwar, Anthony SO 3) Klamm, Tyler SO 4) Knottnerus, Kory SR 36.91 54.61 49.71 51.08 39.27 44.09 52.98 16.31

Boys 400 Yard Freestyle Relay

1 Laramie High School Swim/Dive ‘A’ 3:30.23 3:26.90 20 1) McFarland, Mason SR 2) Mavriplis, Nick JR 3) Sheaffer, Slade JR 4) Larsen, Clayton SR 24.44 51.98 24.71 52.37 24.66 51.36 24.36 51.19 3 Campbell County High School ‘A’ 3:42.57 3:35.03 16 1) Apodaca, Andrew JR 2) Ely, Brayden JR 3) Baldacci, Conner FR 4) Bowersox, David JR 25.86 55.00 25.75 55.83 25.17 54.20 23.63 50.00

Men - Team Rankings - Through Event 11

1. Laramie High School Swim/Dive 274.5 2. Cheyenne Central High School 263 3. Kelly Walsh High School 208 4. Cheyenne East High School Boys 203.5 5. Campbell County High School 168 6. Green River High School 100 7. Sheridan High School 93 8. Riverton High School 91 9. Buffalo High School 88 10. Cheyenne South High School 50 11. Natrona County High School 26

18

Football games, being played on Thanksgiving Day, date back to 1876.

When Yale and Princeton began an annual tradition of playing each other on Thanksgiving Day, The University of Michigan also made it a tradition to play annual Thanksgiving games, holding 19 such games from 1885 to 1905. The Thanksgiving Day games between Michigan and the Chicago Maroons in the 1890s have been cited as “The Beginning of Thanksgiving Day Football.”

By the time football had become a professional event, playing on Thanksgiving had already become an institution. Records of pro football being played on Thanksgiving date back to as early as the 1890s, with the first pro–am team, the Allegheny Athletic Association of Pittsburgh. In 1902, the “National” Football League, a Major League Baseball-backed organization based entirely in Pennsylvania and unrelated to the current NFL, attempted to settle its championship over Thanksgiving weekend; after the game ended in a tie, eventually all three teams in the league claimed to have won the title. Members of the Ohio League, during its early years, usually placed their marquee matchups on Thanksgiving Day. For instance, in 1905 and 1906 the Latrobe Athletic Association and Canton Bulldogs, considered at the time to be two of the best teams in professional football (along with the Massillon Tigers), played on Thanksgiving.

A rigging scandal with the Tigers leading up to the 1906 game led to severe drops in attendance for the Bulldogs and ultimately led to their suspension of operations. During the 1910s, the Ohio League stopped holding Thanksgiving games because many of its players coached high school teams and were unavailable. This was not the case in other regional circuits: in 1919, the New York Pro Football League featured a Thanksgiving matchup between the Buffalo Prospects and the

Rochester Jeffersons. The game ended in a scoreless tie, leading to a rematch the next Sunday for the league championship.

The first owner of the Lions, G.A. Richards, started the tradition of the Thanksgiving Day game as a gimmick to get people to go to Lions football games, and to continue a tradition begun by the city’s previous NFL teams.

Several other NFL teams played regularly on Thanksgiving in first eighteen years of the league, including the Chicago Bears and Chicago Cardinals (1922–33; the Bears played the Lions from 1934 to 1938 while the Cardinals switched to the Green Bay Packers for 1934 and 1935), Frankford Yellow Jackets, and the New York Giants (1929–38, who always played a crosstown rival). During the Franksgiving controversy in 1939 and 1940, the only two teams to play the game were the Pittsburgh Steelers and Philadelphia Eagles, as both teams were in the same state (Pennsylvania). (At the time, then-president Franklin Roosevelt wanted to move the holiday for economic reasons and many states were resistant to the move; half the states recognized the move and the other half did not. This complicated scheduling for Thanksgiving games.

Incidentally, the two teams were also exploring the possibility of a merger at the time. ) Because of the looming World War II and the resulting shorter seasons, the NFL did not schedule any Thanksgiving games in 1941, nor did it schedule any in the subsequent years until the war ended in 1945. When the Thanksgiving games resumed in 1945, only one game would be played each year (except 1950 and 1952), and only the Lions would have a permanent Thanksgiving game. In 1951, the Packers resumed its regular role on Thanksgiving, becoming the perpetual opponent to the Lions each year through 1963.

Classifieds

Campbell County Observer

Help Wanted Cook needed at Lu La Bells.

Motivated and Energetic.

Days Only. Apply at Lu La bells.

PERSONAL ASSISTANCE NEEDED: We are looking for an Office Assistant. Duties include greeting clients, answering phones, and routing mail, data entry and retrieve,scheduling and calender maintenance,Ideal candidates will have proven customer service skills in an administrative setting and experience with Microsoft Office applications email resumes to akeelahanderson001@gmail.com IF INTERESTED Powder River Roofing, a growing company in N.E. Wyoming, is hiring full time roofers. Call 307-696-7465 for an interview.

Toy Parts & Accessories Stock pipes for Sportster.

500mi. Stock pices for Dyna Wide Glide. 1500mi. Email baxtersmom62@gmail.com for info.

Rare find.

1969 Pontiac Motor. 390 HP and 470 ft. torque stock from factory.

Aluminum edelbrock intake goes with motor. Best offer takes it home. 307-6220825 (a1-39-tfnh) 1999 Vortec 350 Intake and heads. Make offer. 307-6220825 (a1-39-tfnh) Four 16 inch rims, five hole, with caps.$90 307 - 670 1887 Harley Accessories for sale.

Call 307-670-8980. Ask for Tammy.

Campers & Motor Homes

Personal Assistant needed to organize and help. Basic computer skills needed, must be good with organization. I am ready to pay $600.00 per week. Interested person should contact: deans995@ gmail.com Bl-32-2V

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

Full Time Flooring Installers wanted. Must have experience. Bring resumes in to Carpet Express Direct on Hwy. 59 next to the Prime Rib Restaurant.

Large Private RV/Camper Lot for rent. Big yard, trees.

All utilities available. $400 per month, $400 deposit. 1 year lease. Call (307) 6601007.

Exciting new career. Unlimited income potential. Think you can sell? Call 307-2994662. We offer commission, fuel allowance, and much more. Sell in the Bighorn, Casper, Powder River, and Black Hills Area.

5th wheel camper for sale.

Call Skip (307) 680-0073

Are you a friendly outgoing individual? Do you connect with people casually? Are you looking for supplemental income? Do you need to be in charge of your own hours?

We are looking for an independent contractor for commissioned based ad sales.

For more information call Sandra at 307-689-0028 or email at campbellcountytidbits@yahoo.com State Wide Sales people.

Print Advertising Sales for new State-wide newspaper.

Call 307-299-4662

Child Care Child Care in Sleepy Hollow. Room for 2 children. $20 per day per child. Call 307-257-2306.

Toys (ATV’s Boats, Etc.) BOAT FOR SALE. 18ft 120 port jet outboard bass tracker for sale. Call 307-680-5947 International Tractor 300 Utility For Sale. $2000 Artic Cat 4X4 2001For Sale. $2000 Call Bill 307 - 660 – 8563 94 Mazda MX3 for sale. $1500 obo. 307-670-2037 1988 Honda Gl1500 for free if interested contact me at ( james.bernard10@live.com ) 2010 Polaris 550 eps with less than 100 miles, books for $8,000. make and offer.

Call Steve Terry at 307-2992992 Chopper - Custom built frame, s&s engine, carb, etc.

80ci. Evolution engine. Wide glide front end. Low. Torn apart down to frame. Have all parts, could be built in two days with under $200.00.

Asking $5,500 or best offer.

Price:$5,500obo. Contact: 307-670-2037 1981 Harley Davidson FXBSturgis, 1st dual-belt drive to commemorate Hill-Climb @ Sturgis, Jack-Pine Gypsies rally started in ‘41, 50th anniversary model. 12K on straight-up original paint, new Moetzler’s driven-by beefed Shovel, 102hp at wheel. Perfect in every aspect, serious inquiries only, loan is $15K and value of over 25K. Ben 680.7464, 3-other older bikes and this has to go to the right person!

Custom Harley Soft tail. Being built, need to sell now.

Almost finished. Chopper, built in Sturgis, SD. Asking $5,500 and will help you build it. HAVE ALL PARTS! Call 257-2306 Boat for Sale with trailer.

Needs work. Call 670-8980 for info.

Personals Interested in founding a Sherlock Holmes Society in Gillette? Contact gillettesherlockians@gmail. com for info.

Camping/Fishing Minnows, crawlers, leeches, fishing tackle, boating and camping supplies. Fully furnished cabin rentals, 50 Amp Full Hookup RV sites 5 minutes from Keyhole Reservoir in Pine Haven. Empire Guesthouse & RV Park 307756-3454. www.empireguesthouse.com

Business Opportunities Looking for investor in local business. Call for Details.

307-257-2306.

Exciting career available Now! No weekends, holidays, or nights. Unlimited income potential. 20% commission plus gas allowance selling print advertising. Call Anne Peterson (advertising manager) at (307) 299-4662 or email AnnePeterson@ CampbellCountyObserver. com Health problems? Try doTERRA certified pure essential oils. 307-680-0363. www. myvoffice.com/healingisbelieving

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

Apartment for Rent in WindRidge Appts. Water/Trash/ Washer/Dryer. Air and Heat.

3bs/2bth. Must qualify for low income housing. $740.00/ mo. Call 307-685-8066 Foothills View Apartments Hot Move In Special! Cool, Clean, Quiet Apartments.

A/C, 2 Bdrm. $695 1Bdrm. $595. Showing anytime Call 307-686-6488 C3-28-2v Apartments for rent. Foothills View Apartments. Clean and Quiet. One and Two bedroom units starting at $595.00. Call for showing andmove in special 307-6866488 (c3-42-3v) Spacious & new, 1, 2, &3 bdrm affordable apartments available now! Call 6858066. Washer and dryer in every unit. Private sunny patio or balcony. Special move-in rate, 1 bdrm: $694, 2 bdrm: $777, 3 bdrm: $888.

Move in now and deduct $ 200 off first month while special lasts. Call Konnie or Celeste at Highland Properties 685-8066.

Produce for Sale Fresh local “Free Range” eggs. All natural, no animal by-products. No antibiotics. $3/Doz. 257-9049

For Rent 2 Bedroom Duplex, with one car garage, washer/dryer, no pets. $700rent/$700deposit.

307-689-0202 Room for Rent. Nice Room for Rent for one responsible person. $480.00 per month.

689-9358.

December 7 - 14, 2012

Guns for Sale

Services

Miscellaneous

Czech CZ-82 Pistol. 9X18 Caliber, semi auto. High quality steel construction made for field use. 12 round capacity magazine, cock and lock style safety, super accurate polygonal rifled barrel.

Comes with extra magazine, cleaning tools, and original issue military holster. Regular price $387.93, On sale with this ad for only $315.00.

Call Wyoming Mountaineers 299-2084 and mention this ad.

Homeowners and renters insurance for house, trailer, or apartments. Call Elizabeth Jones Agency 307-682-6520

Licensed daycare now open.

Spots available full-time and before and after school.

Close to Rozet school and the post office.

Monday through Friday 6:30am to 6pm. Ages 3 and up. Call 307-299-1915

Taurus Model 827, 38SPL Revolver. 7rnd, 4” Barrel, Stainless Steel. MSRP: $664.00 on sale with this add $575.00. or make 4 payments of $163.20 each. Call Wyoming Mountaineers 2992084 and mention this ad.

Remington model 770 Sportsman with 3x9 scope.

270 win. 22” barrel, black syn. Stock. MSRP $375.00.

Mention this ad and buy same MSRP for $325.00 (or 4 payments of $95.40).

Wyoming Mountaineers, call or text 307-299-2084 D132-TFN Savage Arms/Stevens Model 350 12 Ga. pump shotgun. 3” chamber, 28” barrel, 4+1 Capacity, Black soft touch synthetic stock. Screw in chokes comes with modified choke.

Bottom eject makes this an excellent waterfowl and upland bird hunting gun. Regular price $294.95. On sale with this ad for only $250.00.

Call Wyoming Mountaineers 299-2084 and mention this ad.

Get a piece of history. Mosin Nagant Russian M91/30 Surplus Rifle. Very good to Excellent condition 7.62X54 Caliber. These are a very accurate rifle shooting 4” groups at 1000 yards. Open sights are adjustable to yardage with a push of a button.

Great gun for hunting deer or elk very cheap ammo available for target practice ($85 per 440 rnds) Comes with military issue sling, sling pouches, bayonet, and cleaning tools. Retailing as high as $175.00 on sale with this ad $145.00. Call Wyoming Mountaineers 2992084 and mention this ad.

Wyoming Mountaineers now offers easy payment plans on any in stock firearm. Your debit card is your line of credit. Purchase any firearm that is in stock making 4 payments weekly, biweekly, or monthly. Processing fee and payment plan fee apply. Call Wyoming Mountaineers for more details. Call Wyoming Mountaineers 299-2084 and mention this ad.

Taurus Model 827, 38 SPL revolver. 7RND, 4” barrel, Stainless Steel. MSRP $664.00. Mention this ad and get MSRP for $350.00 (4 easy payments of $102.03) Wyoming Mountaineers, call or text 307-299-2084 D132-TFN Gunsmithing Special of the week. Electrolysis Barrel Cleaning. Increase the accuracy of your firearm, get ready for hunting season or a summer of shooting fun. Most cleanings complete overnight and your gun is ready the next day.

This week only $25.00. Call Wyoming Mountaineers 2992084 and mention this ad.

Before you buy, make a call to get a quote. We can order any gun you are looking at and just may be able to save you a ton of money.

Call for a free quote. $15.00 FFL Transfer Fee on all internet purchases. If you find that smoking great deal on the internet we transfer guns for only $15.00 per gun. Call Wyoming Mountaineers 2992084 and mention this ad.

Colt AR-15, Sporty Target.

Pre-ban, INCREDIBLY LOW SALE NUMBER. Great condition $1,500. (307) 6894339. D1-32-2V 1903 Springfield. 30o6 Cal. U.S. Military. $700 obo. Call (307) 682-7864

Heavy Equipment/ Trailers

RV Winterization starting at $99.95 at YOUR house. Call Randy at 307-660-3091 (b340-tfnh) Powder River Roofing is N.E. Wyoming’s top quality roofing, with the highest safety standards in the area. Call for your FREE estimate today for metal/wood/shingle removal, install, and repair.

(307)-696-7465. Don’t worry, we’ve got you covered!

Want To Get in Shape?Like to have Fun? Learn The Graceful moves of American Oriental Belly Dancing! The 3rd Sunday of every month.

Call Leanna Tabatt 307-6808457 Looking to buy a new computer? Why waste the money? “Your Computer Store” has refurbished towers and laptops rebuilt right here in our store. Plenty of memory, disc space, and advice. Come by and see our inventory at “Your Computer Store,” where YOU come first! 802 E. Third St next to Ice Cream Land Powder River Mechanics.

We have the cheapest labor rates, but the best quality repairs in town. We offer full services on Foreign and domestic vehicles, ATV’s, Snowmobiles, motorcycles, jet ski’s, boats, and more.

Let us put you on a Preventative maintenance schedule so your vehicles run miles past your warranty. Call for an appointment. 307-6967713.

Avenue Mall - Over 30 vendors, come check us out! 217 Gillette Ave. Mon-Fri. 9AM to 7 PM, Sat. 9AM- 5 PM, Sun. 10 AM - 4 PM Computers have become like cars, and they need repaired.

Want the best quality repair work in N.E. Wyoming? Bring your computer to “Your Computer Store.” Quality work at a quality price. “Your Computer Store,” where YOU COME FIRST 802 E. Third street next to Ice Cream Land.

Auto insurance preferred and SR-22’s. Call Elizabeth Jones Agency 307-682-6520 Motorcycle and ATV insurance. Call Elizabeth Jones Agency 307-682-6520

Merchandise 1939 HA Selmer Trumpet $750 OBO. 687-1087 Exterior door with window, interior light fixtures, and computer supplies. E-mail Corsair115@yahoo.com Refrigerator (white) Great condition $100 307-2995918 Blue Dual Reclining Sofa.

Good shape $100 Call 6802982. Can text photo if you like.

Spyder Semi-auto paint ball gun. cal..68 Special Edition.

Only used twice! New $300 For you $175 plus two canisters. Call 680-1302 If you are interested in purchasing Nutrient Rich Ranch Raised Beef grown locally, call 307-340-1108.

1981 Circle J 4-horse Horse Trailer. New floor, paint and wiring. $2500 OBO Call 307 - 680 – 2374 1981 Circle J 4-horse Horse Trailer. New floor, paint and wiring done in shop class 2 years ago. No rust only used once since redone. $2500 or OBO Call 307 - 680 – 2374

ACE will reduce your appetite and give you energy. The natural way to lose weight. www.facebook.com/AcePill 660-2974

Homes for Sale Home for sale by owner in Western Way. Asking $239,000 for the 1,800 sq. ft. 3 bedroom 2 bath home with an unfinished basement and a two car garage. Fully fenced, large landscaped yard with a sprinkler system.

Home is within walking distance to the new recreation center and the new elementary school that is being built. Please contact me at 307-670-1209 if you are interested.

For Sale. 3br Townhouse.

1.5 bath. 307-680-1449 (c139-tfnh) Tri-level house for sale 4 bed 2 bath $209,000 (307) 6701925.

40+ Acres 2 miles south of Wright 1999 Atlantic Oak Modular. $250,000 OBO Call 307 - 680 – 2374 Great House - 4 bedroom, 2 bath, computer room, huge island kitchen, fireplace.

Must see! call 307-687-0333 C1-23-tfn 3 bedroom 11/2 bath C1-39-tfnh

Townhouse 680-1449

FSBO 2,688 SF home on corner lot with fenced back yard. 4 bedrooms, 3.5 bathrooms, upgraded kitchen, finished walkout basement, oversized garage. $259,000.

307-680-9180.

Booth Table. L-shaped. With Chairs. Seats 6. $500.00 Call 299-4967 Three antique pressedbacked oak chairs. Excellent condition. $85 each. 6820042

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

1993 Chrysler LHS for sale or trade.

Needs tie-rod and alignment. Runs good. $1,500.00 OBO. Email KevlarGrease@gmail.com 1994 Plymouth Voyager for sale or trade. Runs/ looks great. 188,000 miles. $2,000.00 OBO. Email KevlarGrease@gmail.com 1996 Nissan Pathfinder 4x4.

New BF Goodrich Tires, Runs good. $1,200.00. 307299-4662. (a141-tfnh) 2004 Yukon Denali XL,6.0 Motor, Loaded $14,000 OBO 660-9351 2008 Hyundai Sonata LMTD, 40,000 mi. $13,500, Call 307-660-2532.

2000 Chevy Silverado 4x4 1/2 Ton Pickup. New tires, ext. cab, long bed. 148,000 mi. One owner. 307-6700858 or 303-250-4096 97’ Chevy Long Box Extended Cab. ¾ Ton, selling for Parts. $1,000 OBO. 307680-7431 1982 Chevy Ventura Van. 350 Engine, 400 Turbo newly rebuilt transmission. Interior in GREAT shape, has a working electric wet bar and built in cooler in back. Carb. needs re-jetted, other than that there are no problems.

Must see. Asking $3,500 or best offer. Price:$3,500obo.

Contact: 307-670-8980 1952 Chevy Dumptruck, hauls 5 tons of coal $1500 307-682-1172 1986 Toyota Tercel 4x4. $1050.00.

Call 307-2995918

Wanted to Buy I Buy Militaria. Swords, uniforms, bayonets, medals, guns/parts, field gear. 6827864 Wanted: Old Batteries. Call 307-670-1675. D4-30-8P WILL PAY CASH FOR CAMPERS. Call Scott (307) 680-0854.

Tonneau Cover for sale!

Cover will fit any pickup with an 8' bed, long wheel base - $125.00

Call 307-689-4189

Great Jerky http://www.rberlinger.jerkydirect.com/ Five roasts and twelve pounds of hamburger for a flat rate. $150.00. All ranch raised beef. This is an approximate savings of 10% on the total. Contact Jason Walker at 307-686-0577 For sale: whirlpool refrigerator, brand new patio propane heater, still in box Cabela’s shower tent, large dining room dark blue/red rooster rug, 10” wet tile saw, treadmill. Call 682-6353.

Kojac series One, two and three dvd $65.00 $98 value 307 - 670 - 1887 Two place aluminum snowmobile trailer. $1,600. 307689-0202

Pets

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

Bring your catch by the Empire Guesthouse for photographs which may be published in this newspaper with our fishing reports. Along with that, the Guesthouse staff will be awarding monthly prizes for those that let us photograph them and their catch. It doesn’t have to be a trophy to enter and there will be special prizes for those 12 and under. Carp shooters are also welcome to enter.

Check with the Guesthouse for more details.

Home Appliances/ Furnshings

Basset Hound pups for sale; 9 weeks old; need shots.

Rust and White and Tricolor $250.00; One Lemon and White female $300.00.

Transportation cost additional if I deliver @ 25 cents per mile. Serious Inquiries Only!

Please call 307-382-9282.

2 AKC Registered Tea Cup Yorkies Puppies for free.

They are male and female. If interested contact james.bernard10@live.com D7-45-3H

19

2002 Jaguar x type 3.0 v6 22mpg cty 34 hwy 135000 hwy miles all maintenance current. New coils, plugs wires. Call Chris at Carpet Express Direct.

Subscribe Now Mail this form, along with payment, to our office at 707 W. Third St. Gillette, WY 82716

26 Weeks - $25.00 52 Weeks - $50.00

Name Address Phone Number To Pay with a Credit/Debit Card, please call our office at (307) 670-8980 or visit our website at www.CampbellCountyObserver.com

Our Roots

December 14 - 21, 2012

Campbell County Observer

“The Battle of the Sexes”

By Mike Borda

A former professional tennis player, Riggs had a tremendous career by most standards, having won 3 grand slam titles and achieved the world number 1 ranking. He was not the strongest hitter, nor the the quickest, but he learned early on that with his size he needed to play smart. He used techniques such as drop shots and lobs to wear down his opponents and win matches.

However, Riggs ran into trouble once his career had ended. WIth impending boredom and financial insecurity, he turned to promotions to make money. So, in 1973 Riggs, at age 55, challenged the top women’s player of the time, Margaret Court to what was dubbed “The Battle of the Sexes”. Riggs wanted not only to prove that men were the superior athletic sex, but also bring some much needed attention to the game of tennis in general.

In what amounted to a far less competitive match than most expected, Riggs easily defeated Court, 6-2, 6-1. Riggs ego was fed, and the game had gained some exposure.

However, his overconfidence soon leads to more problems and another match.

Riggs began flaunting his victory, and talked openly about how women were inferior athletes. This amounted to glorified taunting tour of the 29 year old Billie Jean King, another top women’s player and the original invitee of the first “Battle of the Sexes”.

Eventually Kings succumbed to the pressure (and the lure of the $100,000 prize check). However, she learned from Court’s mistakes, and would not play into Riggs’ hands. Having studied the previous match, King knew which tactics Riggs would try, and strategized a game plan around them.

She won the match, which was played in a best of 5 men’s format, 6-4, 6-3, and 6-3.

Far more important than the match itself however, was the impact the match had on the American sports culture. It came during the height of the feminist movement, and set an example for millions of young girls around the world. The “Battle of the Sexes” showcased feminine pride and proved through entertainment that equality was a very real ideal.

Bobby Riggs and Billie Jean King. The man behind it all was Bobby Riggs.

“A government big enough to give you everything you want is a government big enough to take from you everything you have.”

- President Gerald R. Ford

Who’s Brand is this in Campbell County?

Answer from last week George W. and Evelyn Page

Sponsor the Quotes and get 4 small ads/week for only $50/week!

A Pipeline of Cattle

By Jeff Morrison

By the time northeast Wyoming was “discovered” as prime rangeland for the purpose of raising beef cattle, in the late 1870s, long distance cattle drives from Texas to southern Wyoming and western Nebraska had become fairly routine.

The first large cattle herd to be driven through Wyoming on its way to Montana was led by Nelson Story. In 1866 he trailed a herd from Texas to Virginia City, Montana. His route through Wyoming followed the Oregon Trail from Fort Laramie to the vicinity of what would become Fort Fetterman, then up the Bozeman Trail through Powder River Country. Two years later, in 1868, Charles Goodnight arrived in Cheyenne with a large herd from Texas to sell to the Union Pacific Railroad for fresh beef, establishing the northern terminus of the GoodnightLoving Trail in the process.

By 1874, the Texas rancher and renowned trail boss, John Lytle, had established the Texas Trail as far as Ogallala, Nebraska. Eventually his trail would extend all the way to Fort Benton, Montana and would become the last of the great cattle trails in America.

It would also bring a veritable flood of cattle into northeast Wyoming. Beginning in the late 1870s and continuing into the mid-1890s, hundreds of thousands of cattle were driven north until a combination of economics, railroads, and fences put an end to the legendary era of the Cowboy.

The rich grasslands of the northern plains supported vast herds of bison for hundreds of years before they were hunted to near-extinction in the late 1800s. Although only a remnant of the once countless numbers of bison remained after the plains Indians were displaced to reservations in the late 1870s, commercial hunting of the animals continued until 1884. As buffalo and Indians were pushed out, the enormous expanse of land became open-range, free for homesteading and grazing.

Cattle began arriving to stay in northeast Wyoming in 1879.

The first large herd came, not from Texas, but from southern Wyoming, to a ranch established by Dick and Moreton Frewen, near present-day Sussex. Before the end of the year, many more seed herds were on their way north to become the founding stock of the Great Beef Bonanza.

The Texas Trail was, in real-

ity, a network of many trails. A typical herd size was around 2,000 animals, driven by a dozen or so cowboys, with a remuda of spare horses and a chuck wagon. Some herds were much, much larger. That many animals moving through an area, concentrated into a droving herd tended to tear up the ground. As a result, a wellused trail could end up leaving a mile-wide strip of trampled down, unusable dirt where abundant grass flourished, and watering holes reduced to little more than mud. Some trail bosses found it necessary to alter their route if they were starting out late in the season.

As herds were moved north, they would branch off the main route as final destinations dictated.

In Wyoming, the Texas herds usually came up from the vicinity of Ogallala and followed the North Platte River to Fort Laramie where the trail system split. From there a herd could continue up the North Platte Valley into the Casper and central Wyoming area, or follow the old Bozeman Trail into the Powder River Basin and on into the Billings, Montana area.

Continuing due north from Fort Laramie would bring the herd up what is now Highway 85, through the Lusk area to what is now Newcastle, then veer northwest to cross the Belle Fourche near Moorcroft, over to Cow Creek and then follow the Little Powder River on into Montana.

A typical trail crew consisted of around 12 cowboys. The two most experienced hands rode just in front and to either side of the herd, defining how wide the herd would be allowed to spread and keeping them pointed in the right direction. Two swing riders were positioned on either side near the front and acted as the steering mechanism to turn the herds when needed. Two or more flank riders were used to keep the following parts of the herd grouped together and to gather up strays. Following the herd were two to four drag riders, choking on dust and pushing the herd from behind. One or two wranglers, frequently youngster around 12 to 14 years old, drove the spare horses, either ahead of or off to one side of the cattle herd. The highest paid member of any trail outfit was the cook, who drove the chuck wagon, selected the campsites, cooked the meals and frequently served as the company medic.

In addition to their trail duties, the cowboys also took turns riding night-herd to keep the cattle from scattering in the dark. Lethal danger from stampedes, rattlesnake bites, runaways, or shoot-outs with jayhawkers did not warrant hazard-pay because it was all part of the job. However, it was common practice to pay bonus money for every head of unbranded strays collected along the way. This practice was a justified as a way to mitigate stock losses incurred during the drive, but more than one trail drive arrived at the homerange trailing quite a few more cattle than they left Texas with.

The trail boss filled a multitude of roles on the drive. He was responsible for the herd from the time it was pointed up the trail until it arrived on its new home range in the north.

He was also responsible for the crew and their well-being.

He hired the men, trained them when necessary, and fired them if he had to. Unless the owner or ranch foreman accompanied the herd, the trail boss kept the payroll, paid for supplies or other expenses as they arose on the trail, and, on the rare occasions when the cowboys were allowed to visit a town, paid fines and bail when needed. He was the trailblazer, guiding the herd to water, river crossings and passes, and kept the herd on

the desired path.

Once the herd was delivered the crew was paid off and were free to either ride back to Texas or stay and look for employment locally. Frequently, a trail boss was invited to stay with the herd, working as a roundup foreman or ranch manager.

Enough cowboys chose to stay that at one point in history it would have been safe to say that population of northeast Wyoming was mostly former Texans.

But as many cowboys who stayed to put down roots, an equal or greater number of them rode back to Texas and returned with another herd.

Droving was a lucrative business in and of itself and experience cowboys, cooks and trail bosses could demand top dollar. John Lytle, the man who first established the trail in 1874, owned a large ranch in Texas, but trailed many herds to Montana, Wyoming and the Dakotas during the heyday of the cattle drives.

The total number of cattle driven up the Texas Trail is unknown, but could be well over a million head. 1883 was the high-point of the cattle driving years and it is estimated that 260,000 head were driven north that year. Although the frequency and size of trail herds decreased dramatically after the brutal winter of 188687, the drives continued until

the mid-1890s. By that time the railroads reached into the remoteness of northern Wyoming and eastern Montana, and it was more convenient to ship cattle to the nearest rail stop and then make a short trail-drive with fewer cowboys.

The once wide-open range had been largely fenced as well, causing the last few trail herds to make drastic detours and pay excessive right-ofway tolls. The trail book of one of the last known drives from Texas shows that it took the drovers twice as much time to get the herd to Montana than it had just a year previous, due to the detours and delays caused by waiting for permission to cross private land.

Nelson Story’s drive in 1866 notwithstanding, the trail drives from Texas to Montana and Wyoming began a decade after the great drives to Kansas and Nebraska, and lasted less than twenty years. But the impact of those years still echoes today. Few people outside the state realize just how much coal is mined here, how much oil has been produced here, or for that matter, any other contribution our state has made to industries such as wool growing, sugar beets, uranium, iron ore, and trona potash. But all around the world, if they’ve heard of our state at all, people will tell you: Wyoming is the Cowboy State.

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