Images Sweetwater County, WY: 2009

IMAGESSWEETWATERCOUNTY.COM THE DEFINITIVE RELOCATION RESOURCE VIDEO Take a peek into Expedition Island Park in our online video.

PHOTOS See more community images from our prize-winning photographers.

FACTS & STATS Find schools, an interactive map, and important facts and figures.

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Click the top corners of the magazine to turn pages

SWEETWATER COUNTY, WYOMING

LOVE ME TENDER Restaurants offer unusual burgers and juicy steaks

MILD MEETS WILD

Here’s the Drill

Comforts, adventure and open space await newcomers

Gas, coal, oil, uranium remain in abundance

SPONSORED BY THE ROCK SPRINGS CHAMBER OF COMMERCE | 2009

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FREE Admission

Rock Springs Historical Museum

Open 10 a.m.-5 p.m.

Mon.-Sat. 201 B St. Rock Springs, WY 82901 (307) 362-3138

Sweetwater County Historical Museum

Open 10 a.m.-6 p.m.

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Community Fine Arts Center

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Over 500 20th century works of art!

2009 EDITION | VOLUME 1 TM

SWEETWATER COUNTY, WYOMING

14 CO NTE NT S F E AT U R E S 14 MILD MEETS WILD In Sweetwater County, newcomers find a lifestyle with balance, natural beauty and affordable living.

26 ON THE ROAD AGAIN Restored fire truck brings a piece of Rock Springs’ history back to life.

30 A RANCHER’S PARADISE 18 LOVE ME TENDER Local restaurants serve up savory steaks and unusual burgers.

22 THERE’S NO PLACE LIKE HOME Building boom produces a variety of housing options.

Once home to Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, Currant Creek Ranch offers visitors a unique ranch experience.

59 NO PLACE FOR COUCH POTATOES The region’s state-of-the-art recreational facilities offer something for everyone.

ON THE COVER ON THEPhoto COVER

by J. Photographer Kyle Keener The Natural Historygoes Museum Cover description here

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SWEETWATER COUNTY, WYOMING

30 SWEETWATER COUNTY BUSINESS D E PA R TM E NT S

34 Here’s the Drill Gas, coal, oil, uranium and wind position region as major national energy player.

10 Almanac: a colorful sampling of Sweetwater County’s culture

38 The Accidental Entrepreneur Rock Springs welder invents cleaner method for oil and gas production.

28 Portfolio: people, places and events that define Sweetwater County

45 Image Gallery

40 Biz Briefs

49 Education

43 Economic Profile

55 Health & Wellness 57 Arts & Culture 61 Community Profile: facts, stats and important numbers to know

65 Photo Finish

This magazine is printed entirely or in part on recycled paper containing 10% post-consumer waste.

PLEASE RECYCLE THIS MAGAZINE

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57 I M AG E S S W E E T WAT E R C O U N T Y. C O M

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%DUCATING today's students FOR tomorrowâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s world

Sweetwater County School District Number One

Contact us at (307) 352-3400 www.sweetwater1.org

imagessweetwatercounty.com THE DEFINITIVE RELOCATION RESOURCE

What’s On Online nl

EXPEDITION ISLAND PARK Expedition Island Park offers whitewater rapids and more.

Watch this and other quick videos in the Interactive section.

RELOCATION Considering a move to this community? We can help. Use our Relocation Tools to discover tips, including how to make your move green, advice about moving pets and help with booking movers.

PHOTOS We’ve added even more prize-winning photography to our online gallery. To see these spectacular photos, click on Photo Gallery.

FACTS & STATS Go online to learn even more about: • Schools • Health care • Utilities • Parks • Taxes

LOCAL FLAVOR Meat lovers rejoice. Classic burgers and juicy steaks are a staple of Rock Springs’ restaurants. Get a taste of local flavor in our food section.

ABOUT THIS MAGAZINE Images gives readers a taste of what makes Sweetwater County tick – from business and education to sports, health care and the arts.

“Find the good – and praise it.”

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– Alex Haley (1921-1992), Journal Communications co-founder

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Really, Really Old It has a big name and some big artifacts.

The Western Wyoming Community College Natural History Museum & Archeological Services in Rock Springs displays dinosaur bones that have been discovered in the area.

The museum offers five large skeletons that range in age from 67 to 180 million years old.

Also on exhibit are fossilized fish, huge leaves and prehistoric pottery, and don’t forget to see the baby alligator fossil. Admission is free, and exhibits rotate often.

Fruits of Their Labor Out of watercress and water spinach?

The Rock Springs Farmer’s Market features fresh produce that arrives to consumers directly from farmers, and many of the items for sale are organic.

The market is open Thursdays from mid-July through August, at the Bank Court on Broadway Street in Rock Springs.

Besides fruits and vegetables, vendors sell fresh baked goods, flowers and homemade crafts. The open-air market is affiliated with the Wyoming Farmers’ Marketing Association.

Tubing Along the Green Like to tube? Head to the Green River.

The river is a popular destination for tubing fans, who can access the water from a number of easy locations. Besides the excellent waterway, tubers can enjoy incredible scenery that includes beautiful rock formations.

Many people begin their tubing adventures in Jamestown just west of the city of Green River, and end at Expedition Island. The ride is relaxing but can get a little bumpy at some points.

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Almanac

Fast Facts Q IIncorporated cities and towns in an Sweetwater County Sw are Bairoil, Granger, Green River, Rock Gr Springs, Superior Sp and Wamsutter. an

Home of 56 Nationalities

Unincorporated QU communities in co the county are th Arrowhead A Springs, Blairtown, Clearview, Eden, Farson, James Town, Little America, McKinnon, North Rock Springs, Point of Rocks, P Purple Sage, Pu Reliance, Sweeney Re Ranch, Table Rock Ra and Washam. an

Festival fans: Mark your calendars for July 11, 2009.

That is when the next International Day will arrive in Rock Springs, celebrating the diverse heritage of the city. Rock ock Springs is known as the â&#x20AC;&#x153;Home e of 56 Nationalities,â&#x20AC;? and the different cultures are celebrated ed all day through food, exhibits, costumes and live entertainment. ent.

International Day takes place ce at Bunning Park, and admission iss free.

Past musical acts have included ed the Alpine Horns, International Dancers, ncers, The Salt Lake City Scots, the Zivio Ethnic Arts Ensemble and the Salzburg urg Echo.

The average annual QT wage in Sweetwater wa County is nearly Co $50,000. $5 Sweetwater County QS has more miles of ha still-visible pioneer trails than any other area in the United States.

Q The county is home to nine public libraries and branches.

Note Worthy Give your ears a treat by attending a Rock Springs Concert in the Park.

Performances in the series take place on various days from mid-June through mid-August, and proceeds go to the International Avenue of Flags. The concerts are sponsored by the Rock Springs Parks & Recreation Department.

Admission is free. The 2008 concert lineup included Jeff Troxel, B Sharps, Boces Summer Band, Wyoming Wind, Boomslang and Mad Jack.

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World’s Largest Trona Mine & Soda Ash Processing Plants

Safety Customer Service Productivity Environmental Awareness Personal Development

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Almanac

Sweetwater County | At A Glance POPULATION (2007 ESTIMATE) Sweetwater County: 52,000 Rock Springs: 31,000 Green River: 14,500 LOCATION Sweetwater County is in southwest Wyoming, just north of the Wyoming, Utah and Colorado state lines.

Plenty in Store Quick statistic: White Mountain Mall is one of only three enclosed malls in the entire state of Wyoming.

The Rock Springs shopping destination opened in 1978 and has 35 stores, including three anchors: Herberger’s, JC Penney and Flaming Gorge Harley-Davidson. White Mountain is the only mall in the United States to house a motorcycle dealership.

Other attractions include an Applebee’s restaurant and a Star Stadium 10 Theater. The mall is conveniently located near Interstate 80.

BEGINNINGS Sweetwater County was organized in 1867.

Its county seat is Green River.

FOR MORE INFORMATION Rock Springs Chamber of Commerce 1897 Dewar Drive P.O. Box 398 Rock Springs, WY 82902-0398 Phone: (307) 362-3771 Fax: (307) 362-3838 www.rockspringswyoming.net

Sweetwater County

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Bairoil

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414

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80

Table Rock Bitter Creek

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The Local Color Art and Gift Gallery Co-op has the largest collection of Wyoming photography on display, along with a large assortment of other artistic works. That’s a big collection.

The gallery opened in 1997 in the historic Slovenski Dom on Bridger Avenue in Rock Springs. co-op The co op features Wyoming artists and craftspeople who have joined forces, and it is an ideal place to find one-of-a-kind, art-related items.

Artists at Local Color share ownership, responsibilities and operation duties of the gallery.

McKinnon

WATCH MORE ONLINE | Take a virtual tour of Sweetwater County at imagessweetwatercounty.com, courtesy of our award-winning photographers.

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How

Sweet It Is ADVENTURES, AMENITIES AND WIDE-OPEN SPACES ATTRACT NEWCOMERS

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STORY BY ELLEN MARGULIES | PHOTOGRAPHY BY J. KYLE KEENER

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r. Melinda Poyer and her family didn’t just move up in the world when they left West Palm Beach for Rock Springs. They soared – from 13 feet above sea level to about 6,500 feet.

True, Poyer, her husband, James, and their six children, ranging in age from toddler to teenager, left behind sunny skies, plenty of shopping and sandy beaches.

But they traded all that in for … sunny skies, plenty of shopping and a high-desert landscape like no other. Two time zones and a thousand miles away, life here is different than it was in crowded south Florida. And that’s just what the Poyers were hoping for.

“We have a much better quality of life here,” says Poyer, whose husband manages her medical practice. Instead of fighting urban sprawl and maddening rush hour traffic, “everything is much closer,” she says. “I’m home every day by 5:30. And we have the ability to have our kids in multiple activities,” like down-hill skiing, snowboarding, football, soccer and swimming.

They weren’t exactly strangers to the place they now call home. Melinda Poyer, a self-described “Army brat” who grew

up all over the world, and her Florida-native husband had been visiting Wyoming every year for at least 20 years. They’ve longowned a ski condo at Grand Targhee Resort in Driggs, Idaho near Jackson Hole, just a few hours north of Sweetwater County, and their oldest son “started skiing when he could walk.” They had planned to retire here anyway when they decided, “why not move here while their kids could enjoy it, too.”

Almost every weekend finds the family out on one outdoor adventure or another. Maybe it’s hiking, visiting the Grand Tetons, boating on Flaming Gorge or rafting down Green River. Adjustment, it turns out, has been a snap for everyone in the Poyer family. With a welcoming community of 31,000 or so who live in Rock Springs – the county’s largest municipality – it’s hard not to become attached really quickly. And the thousands of people flocking here as the gas and oil industry expand find amenities plentiful.

There’s dining, shopping and museums should newcomers ever tire of the 10,500 square miles of public land in the county.

“It’s like anyplace else – you sprout where you’re planted,” says Dave Hanks, CEO of the Rock Springs Chamber of Commerce, who hails from Wisconsin originally. “I grew up

Family practice physician Melinda Poyer and her daughter, Erin, 6, paddle the Green River. Above left: If you’re lucky, you’ll catch a glimpse of wild horses on the Pilot Butte Wild Horse Scenic Loop Tour. Above right: Anglers wile away the afternoon on the Green River, which winds through the Flaming Gorge National Recreation Area.

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in the land of trees and water. This is the land of high desert and mountains.” And it’s a place he’s chosen to call home for nearly three decades now, long enough to feel like a native.

Some dining attractions not to be missed include the city’s many authentic Mexican eateries as well as its steakhouses, which range from brew pub to country club. Shoppers can browse and buy to their heart’s content at a growing collection of smaller shops and boutiques, as well as more traditional fare at Plaza Mall and the White Mountain Mall. “We have all the standards like Wal-Mart, The Home Depot – which is good because you can travel 150 miles without seeing another major retailer,” Hanks says.

The county is conveniently located between Salt Lake City, Utah – about a three-hour trip – and 6 hours from Denver.

That makes it ideal for tourists to drop in, and it gives residents the wide-open spaces they crave while being only an afternoon’s drive away from a big-city fix.

The Poyers are not unlike the growing numbers of young

families moving here. Four years ago, the average age of a resident in this coal, oil and gas town was 47. That’s down to about 34 now as more young people move in, a trend that’s expected to continue.

While Rock Springs is growing by leaps and bounds, there’s still plenty of room to spread out.

Wyoming isn’t for everyone, Hanks says, though in a way that may be part of its appeal. Newcomers need to have a bit of the old pioneering spirit in them to carve out a life in what can sometimes be a harsh land. True, the air is clean, the crime rate is low, the unemployment rate in Rock Springs is almost nonexistent. And the sun shines, typically, more than 300 days out of the year. But it will get cold in the winter. And that sometimes gets in the way of recruitment, Hanks says.

“There is a reason Wyoming is the least populated state in nation,” he says. “You have to be pretty self-reliant. If the electricity goes out when it’s 30 below, you better know how to stay warm.”

Below: Dawn over the Green River, which flows through Firehole Canyon, southwest of Rock Springs Far left: The Rock Springs Historical Museum is housed in the town’s original 1892-era City Hall building. Left: A typical weekend for the Poyer family involves cool dives off a favorite boulder in the Flaming Gorge National Recreational Area.

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Where’s the

BEEF

LOCAL RESTAURANTS SERVE UP SAVORY STEAKS AND JUICY BURGERS STORY BY HOLLIE DEESE PHOTOGRAPHY BY J. KYLE KEENER

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ometimes, all it takes is just one delicious, juicy burger to satisfy your appetite.

Take the Shamrock Burger at Grub’s Drive In in Rock Springs, for example.

Made with two homemade patties topped with Velveeta cheese, it is cooked to order on a flattop grill and served up with mustard, pickle and onions. Most regulars order it with a side of fries smothered in gravy.

“We keep it simple,” says Marcy Skorup, who runs Grub’s

with her husband, Dave.

“These are old-fashioned, greasy burgers,” she says. “We even have T-shirts that say ‘Nutritionally Incorrect Diner.’”

Nutritionally incorrect or not, this legendary Rock Springs greasy spoon – which has been family owned and operated since 1946 – slices potatoes fresh every day for its fries and is also known for its extra thick, homemade shakes. While the drive-in is long gone, on any given day the relaxed dining room is packed with regulars.

“We are still doing things the way they did 62 years ago,”

Filet mignon is a favorite at the Coyote Creak Steakhouse and Saloon, which serves it up with rosemary potatoes and sweet, green asparagus accompanied by a variety of selected wines and homemade desserts.

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Rock Springs Young At Heart Recreational Facility

Serving Seniors, Disabled and Children Programs: Congregate Meals and Activity Programs Home Delivered Meals Community-based In-home Services – Homemaking and Personal Care Young At Heart Home Health Agency Caregiver/ Grandparents Raising Grandchildren Programs Child Day Care/ Early Learning Center Care and Share Volunteer Program Lending Closet

Come eat or socialize with us Free seed giveaway at open house

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“Plant your seed at the new senior center and come help/watch us grow” This ad in part was paid for with funding from Older American Acts funds

Rock Springs Young At Heart Recreational Facility On the corner of Reagan Ave. and Sweetwater Dr. Rock Springs, WY 82901 352-6737 www.youngatheartseniorcenter.com

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©2008 RE/MAX International, Inc. All rights reserved.

Each office independently owned and operated. 080258

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Local Flavor FOOD FOR THOUGHT

200 Pounds of potatoes used every day at Grub’s Drive-In

$5.99 Price of the daily lunch special at Coyote Creek

1934 Year the log floors were hand-built and installed at the Rodeo Grill

3 Number of times a month the menu changes at Coyote Creek

6 a.m.

Time Grub’s opens for breakfast every day

Skorup adds. “Different people, different times, but the burgers are the same.”

If your taste runs more toward buffalo than beef, check out the Rodeo Grill.

“It’s a new experience,” says Manager Lavern Lavine. “We have four or five different kinds of meats every evening, like sausage, mahi mahi and herbal buffalo.”

All of which can make for a varied dining experience among groups who can’t decide among all of the rotisseriestyle options.

“If someone doesn’t like tenderloin, then they can have chicken,” Lavine says, referring to the varied menu offerings.

“And someone who wants to eat buffalo can sit at the same table with people who wouldn’t think of it.”

People can also sidle up to the all-wood original bar and sip cocktails or join friends for karaoke on Friday nights.

“It is just a great experience,” Lavine adds.

If a juicy steak with all the fixin’s is what you are craving, you can’t do better than the cuts served at Coyote Creek Steakhouse and Saloon, which opened in June 2007.

The hand-cut, in-house steaks are the main attraction.

Many people opt to have them topped with jumbo lump crabmeat or the popular “au poivre”, encrusted with black peppercorns and topped with a brandy-cream sauce.

“We use only the finest ingredients, and we try to pay S W E E T WAT E R C O U N T Y

The specialty of Grub’s Drive-In in Rock Springs is the Shamrock Burger. Top: The Rodeo Grill serves a variety of meats grilled over mesquite wood.

attention to detail,” says owner Dory Doud. “We believe that people can spend their hard-earned dollars anywhere. When they choose Coyote Creek, we want it to be money well spent.”

With fresh seafood, a number of choice wines and homemade dessert to top off the meal, it’s no wonder regulars have already found a spot here.

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There’s No

Home

Place Like

HOUSING BOOM OFFERS VARIETY OF RESIDENTIAL OPTIONS

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STORY BY ELLEN MARGULIES

I

TODD BENNETT

t’s better than a gold mine, this wealth of resources beneath the ground in southwestern Wyoming.

For a while, the energy industry drawn to the untapped caches of coal, crude oil and natural gas was growing so quickly the county couldn’t keep pace with demand for that most basic of needs: housing.

But more than four years into its growth spurt, the county and its largest city, Rock Springs, are offering much more than just the basics. The housing options available here are a real estate agent’s – and a homebuyer’s – dream.

It’s a situation that Jim Anselmi, who deals mostly with commercial and industrial clients for Brokerage Southwest, has been waiting for.

“Everyone feels that Sweetwater is the place to be because of what’s happening in the oil and gas fields,” Anselmi says. “Over the past three or four years, growth has so rapidly taken

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Rapid growth has led to a building boom in Sweetwater County.

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STAFF PHOTO

New homes are under construction across Sweetwater County to accommodate a steady influx of newcomers.

place, it has taken us a good two to three years to get things going in the housing end.”

Unemployment here is virtually nonexistent. For a while, big companies would come in, set up and hire several hundred workers – even though workers couldn’t bring in their families because there just weren’t enough places to live.

There were waiting lists to buy homes; people grabbed what they could – even hotel rooms and trailers.

Now, there are lots of choices.

“We’ve had 68 subdivisions in the last five years that have been under construction or in some phase of construction,” says Dave Hanks, CEO of the Rock Springs Chamber of Commerce. The average price of a home here soared, but by fall 2008 seemed to be leveling off around $214,000, Hanks says. He thinks the prices will remain steady for now.

“What we saw initially was a lot of interest in single-family dwellings,” Hanks says. “What we’re seeing now is the second phase of that – we are starting to see more interest in apartment complexes.”

Some of the newer developments 24

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“Everyone feels that Sweetwater is the place to be because of what’s happening in the oil and gas fields.” in Sweetwater County include Scenic Development Apartments, which has 264 units in an 11-building complex in Rock Springs.

Morningside at Rock Springs is a community of luxury townhomes and single-family homes, all priced under $200,000. Amenities include awesome views, walking trails, and a clubhouse with a hot tub and exercise facility.

Then there is Hunter’s Run Townhomes, with affordable two-, threeand four-bedroom townhomes in the Green River valley. The spaces have customizable interiors with such options as granite countertops and hardwood floors, two-car garages, and plans for RV parking, a community rec room and a dog park.

Hanks is glad to see apartments

and townhomes amongst the houses, which were the subject of bidding wars not too long ago. As Rock Springs and the surrounding area continue to grow, a broader range of affordable housing will be in order.

“That will provide a lot of options for people who can’t afford houses – young couples, individuals, people who aren’t interested in the long haul or they don’t know yet,” he says. “It really is a niche that we need.

“The complexion of the housing situation has changed here. You still get the argument, ‘what’s affordable housing.’ The change is reflective of what’s going on nationally, too. We’re kind of in the same boat as everybody.

But we’ve weathered the storm better than most.”

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J. KYLE KEENER

The Green River flows through Firehole Canyon, forming the Flaming Gorge Reservoir.

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On the

Road

RESTORED FIRE TRUCK BRINGS ROCK SPRINGS’ HISTORY BACK TO LIFE

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STORY BY HOLLIE DEESE | PHOTOGRAPHY BY J. KYLE KEENER

W

hen the city of Rock Springs purchased a Maxim fire truck in 1948, officials probably did not expect the truck to still be running 60 years later.

And it wouldn’t be, if it weren’t for the hard work of Randy McJunkin and his crew at the City Maintenance Shop.

“The mayor asked if we could get it running, and that’s how it started,” says McJunkin, an equipment maintenance supervisor.

“Over the years, we have worked on older cars but nothing of that size,” he says. “I think that was first for all of us.”

Usually, the guys in the city-owned shop work on the fleet of cars for the city’s maintenance department, so a vehicle so old and large was unusual.

But the workers – Lester Mavich, George Gaviotis, Collin Laney, Mike Burke and Juli Michel – took on the challenge.

With the assistance of the maintenance workers at the cityowned golf course, for two years, from 2006 to 2008, they transformed the beat-up and seemingly unrepairable machine into a gleaming piece of living history.

The truck was in service for more than 30 years, providing

emergency and life-saving fire and rescue services, until it was retired to a city storage facility.

It remained there for 25 years, where it was vandalized several times until Rock Springs Mayor Timothy Kaumo enlisted McJunkin and his crew to restore it.

“It’s not quite original because the engine it had was un-repairable,” McJunkin says. “If we could have found the parts we would have fixed it, but they quit making that engine more than 40 years ago.”

Instead, they replaced the original engine with a 365 horsepower Cummins diesel engine and installed an Allison automatic transmission, replaced the brake system and completely rewired the truck.

“It took a lot of labor and we had to retro fit a lot of parts,” McJunkin says. “The body work and paint took close to four months since it was pretty beat up from years of service.”

The next step is finding a permanent home for the truck. Too large to fit into the Rock Springs Historical Museum, it is still housed at the garage where it found new life. For now, it will be displayed during parades and other events.

“It runs like a Cadillac,” McJunkin says.

The city of Rock Springs restored the same 1948 Maxim fire truck that was in service through the late 1970s.

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Portfolio

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A Beautiful Landscape ROCK FORMATIONS TELL THEIR OWN TALES OF HISTORY AND GEOLOGY

D

J. KYLE KEENER

riving along I-80 brings more than just a way to get from Point A to Point B. Along the way, travelers are greeted with some stunning, naturally occurring rock formations.

Each formation has its own name and story to go along with it, like Castle Rock and Tollgate Rock, which was once a barricade with only a small narrow pathway for wagon trains to go through. Some enterprising pioneers set up shop and charged a toll.

“The great thing about this area is there are stories about everything that comes through here,” says Janet Hartford with the Green River Chamber of Commerce. “This is a place that was an Indian gathering site, and they did come and do ceremonies here. With all of the flavor of the west there are great stories, though verifying them is sometimes more difficult.”

Formed from the sediments of the ancient lakes that once covered the area’s landscape, the rock formations have been inspiration to a number of artists, including Thomas Moran, a few of whose landscapes are on display at the Smithsonian.

“He came through here in the early 1800s and did paintings of Yosemite and Yellowstone, as well as several renderings of the formations,” Hartford says of the artist.

The natural beauty inspires more than just professional artists.

“It is a very subtle beauty, but there are so many beautiful things about it at different times of day,” says Hartford, a lifelong resident. “You can see deer and tons of other wildlife. To be able to go and walk from my house and in five minutes be completely by myself ... that is a unique experience I don’t think I would trade for anything.”

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The Palisades rock formations west of Green River

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Portfolio

Experience Life on the Ranch L

ocated on 3,100 acres in the expanse of the high desert, Currant Creek Ranch has a storied history.

Once home to Butch Cassidy and The Sundance Kid, the ranch attracts tourist and vacationers from across the world who are fascinated by Western living. Owner and rancher George Stephen’s arrival, however, was driven more by fate than curiosity, In 2002, Stephen was driving mules from Canada to Mexico when he was thrown from his horse, fracturing his neck and spine. “That’s how I got here,” he says. Stephen now runs the

fully operating ranch that was first established in 1861.

Visitors can enjoy hunting, fishing, checking on herds of cattle, mending fences or anything else that goes into the daily life of a rancher.

“You name it, we do it,” Stephen says of the working ranch.

Of course, if you work up an appetite after all that physical activity, you’re in luck. At the Buffalo Bar and Beaver House Restaurant, each night means a different menu.

“Thursday is Dutch oven night, Friday is seafood and Saturday is steak,”

Stephen says. “On seafood night, you might get scallops or you might get giant prawns, whatever is fresh.” A bonus with each meal is the hearty homemade bread and soup, giant salad and dessert, all for a set price.

“If you are sitting with someone you haven’t met before, by the end of the night I guarantee you will know them,” Stephen says.

Visitors can choose from a variety of packages, from three days up to a full week. And if it rains, don’t expect to stay home. Rain or shine, this working ranch keeps running.

Ranch hand Jerry Couch of Alabama enjoys the front porch outside the Beaver House Restaurant at the Currant Creek Cattle Co. Couch has been a regular visitor to the ranch the past couple of summers.

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The Rock Springs - Sweetwater County Airport offers daily direct flights to Salt Lake City and Denver.

PHOTOS BY J. KYLE KEENER

Ready For Takeoff S

weetwater County may be hours away from big urban centers, but when it comes time to get out of town, there’s no need to fill up your gas tank and travel to a large commercial airport.

The Rock Springs-Sweetwater County Airport has daily direct flights to Salt Lake City and Denver.

Great Lakes Airlines, Sky West and United Airlines all offer commercial flights in and out of the airport. Also, Franklin Aviation, located in the general aviation area, provides aircraft rental, charter flight service and flight instruction.

“The community has a choice of three different airlines going to two different cities,” says Airport Manager Gary Valentine. “There is reliable air transportation in and out of this community, and that’s huge for a community this size.”

Since 1927, the airport has been providing air service to the region. In July 2008, the airport added daily flights to Salt Lake City.

“The airport has been serving the community since the earliest days of aviation history,” Valentine says.

Before the airport was moved to the current location, it was located near the site of the present fairgrounds.

In June 1931, Amelia Earhart used the airport as a stop on a publicity tour.

Her stop at the airport is prominently displayed in a photo at the airport.

There are multiple commercial flights that operate out of the airport daily, in addition to nearly 40 medical, military and corporate flights. There are currently two runways.

“It means a lot to the region as well as the community to have this airport,” Valentine says. “It has a major economic impact, and we are showing steady growth in airline industry as well as corporate traffic.”

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ANTONY BOSHIER

Jump Start for Job Seekers

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inding a new job can be tough.

Thanks to the Rock Springs Workforce Center, part of the Wyoming Department of Workforce Services, job seekers have a wealth of resources and support at their fingertips.

“We are a federally funded State resource that provides employment and business services. People can contact us before they relocate to the area to start their job search long distance,” says Pat Brown, Rock Springs Workforce Center Supervisor. The first step is to visit the agency’s Web site at www.wyomingatwork.com. Here, individuals can browse job openings, post a resume or link to other resources.

“Once folks arrive in the area, they can visit our local office to build on their electronic job search activities with individual assistance from friendly, professional staff. Support services include job applications, resumé-writing assistance and use of our computer area for online applications,” Brown says.

The office has information on education and training of value in the local job market, vocational rehabilitation, veterans’ employment, career exploration and aptitude testing. “We are available to provide assistance to primary wage earners, as well as those seeking part-time or after-school employment, summer work or opportunities to supplement a retirement income,” Brown adds.

Businesses can also find resources at the center. “We’re here to meet your employment needs,” Brown says.

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Portfolio

Event-Ful Entertainment

F

or more than 30 years, the Sweetwater Events Complex has hosted everything from rodeos and weddings to gun shows and auctions.

“We have multiple venues on over 320 acres,” says Chad Banks, marketing director. “Over a single weekend, it would not be unusual to have four to five different events. The real interesting thing is there is such diversity of activities and people involved in one group, like BMX, may not understand all there is out there. There is everything from equestrian, motocross, business events, trade shows and weddings, so any kind of event you can imagine, we can accommodate.”

Open 365 days per year, the complex features a 20,000-square-foot exhibit hall that can accommodate large events and an outdoor grandstand and arena with a seating capacity of about 3,000 for spectator events such as rodeos, demolition derbies and concerts. The complex also has five stocked fishing ponds, an indoor arena for equestrian and livestock events, more than 300 stalls and stock pens, as well as horseshoe and bocci ball sites.

Headliners include Wyoming’s Big Show® and the yearly Society of Petroleum Engineers’ shrimp boil and crawfish feed.

“We fly in over 1,000 pounds of fresh seafood from Louisiana, and it is all-you-can-eat,” Banks says. “It is a great event with great food, and it is not very often we have the opportunity for fresh seafood.”

Included in the complex is the Sweetwater Speedway, which sits 6,250 feet above sea level. Host to the Wyoming State Motocross Championships, visitors can also catch stock car and BMX races.

Businesses can rent out part of the complex, including the in-house staff, to help any event succeed.

“We are absolutely the premier event venue,” Banks adds.

– Stories by Hollie Deese

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A typical weekend at the Sweetwater Events Complex features motocross racing on dirt bikes. PHOTO BY J. KYLE KEENER

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Business

A Shot of

Energy

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GAS, COAL, OIL, URANIUM AND EVEN WIND POSITION REGION AS MAJOR PLAYER

STORY BY PAMELA COYLE PHOTOGRAPHY BY J. KYLE KEENER

S

weetwater County has been an energy player since the railroad transformed Rock Springs into a hub for coal mining after the Civil War. But what’s going on now makes those heady, early days look like nickel slots.

Natural gas production is surging; old oil fields are getting another look; coal production is going strong; and the region has enough raw material to keep the world supplied with soda ash (Trona) for a few thousand years. Sweetwater County even has uranium, and Wyoming is the nation’s largest source of it.

“Basically Wyoming is becoming the energy capital of the country,” says Dave Hanks, chief executive officer of the Rock Springs Chamber of Commerce.

“The natural gas Play has been the engine pushing the train.”

Two key factors have combined to fuel growth in the energy sector.

Demand for energy that is not dependent on foreign oil surged just as new technologies made getting at the raw materials worth the investment.

“The economy really starting picking up about four years ago,” says Pat Robbins, regional director of the Wyoming Business Council. “The reserves have always been there, but the costs have been prohibitive.”

Natural gas is a good example. The two hottest “plays,” as they say in the

Trillions of cubic feet of natural gas are located in Sweetwater County.

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Business

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business, are the Jonah Field and the Pinedale Anticline, both just to the north in Sublette County. Together, they contain trillions of cubic feet of natural gas, ranking fifth and second, respectively, among North American reserves. The depth of wells in these fields exceeds 12,000 feet, thousands deeper than those in other natural gas deposits in the state.

“Everything came together at the right time to develop those fields,” Robbins says.

Directional drilling, new fracking techniques – which allow companies to get natural gas embedded in hard sand formation – and higher prices for the finished commodities make for a winning combination.

“That is a very, very big thing going on right now, and it will continue for decades,” says Russell Kirlin, Wyoming regional manager for Questar Gas Co. This isn’t a quick boom with its inevitable bust. Getting energy resources out of the ground is one huge step. Getting them where customers want them is another. New, big pipelines are boosting Wyoming’s national and international profile as a dependable source.

A 42-inch pipe, 2,300 miles long, will transport natural gas from the Jonah and Pinedale Anticline fields to Minneapolis, Chicago and points even further east.

“This move clear over into the Ohio area is unprecedented in Wyoming and Rockies as the whole,” Kirlin says.

Gas resources in Louisiana and the Midwest are depleting, and though Canada remains a player, demand is outpacing supply, he says.

Hanks ticks off the stats: Unemployment at 1.7 percent, the nation’s largest coal producer, the second or third natural gas producer (for now), the seventh largest oil producer and first in uranium.

“Our economy is great out here,” Hanks says.

And future energy plans? Rocky Mountain Power is developing a huge wind field, located partly in Sweetwater County, with 1,000 turbines.

Sweetwater County is a hub of mining and energy production.

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Business

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The

Accidental

Entrepreneur ROCK SPRINGS WELDER INVENTS CLEANER METHOD FOR OIL & GAS PRODUCTION

STORY BY JON BROOKS | PHOTOGRAPHY BY J. KYLE KEENER

H

ollywood scriptwriters in search of a remarkable rags-to-riches saga should look no further than the MESSCO company.

The plot: A hard-working entrepreneur with no formal education, the mysterious new technology he invented almost by accident, set against the backdrop of a global environmental crisis.

“Dave started out in the oil and gas fields in the 1980s with just a single welding truck,” says Abby Moneyhun, MESSCO chief financial officer and wife of CEO Dave Moneyhun. “He expanded to a few more trucks and in 1991 started his own roustabout (oil well worker) company.”

Today Moneyhun owns the patent on a new technology that nearly obliterates toxic releases in the gas refining industry.

But, back in 1998, new environmental mandates were putting oil and gas producers in a bind.

The state wanted to stop the release of VOCs (volatile organic compounds) that occur when companies separate the water that is present with extracted gas and oil. VOCs can harm soil and groundwater, pollute the air, and contribute to global warming.

Unfortunately, the companies couldn’t find the necessary equipment for the task, Abby Moneyhun explains. Dave, who by then had graduated from welding to the manufacture of dehydration units, smelled opportunity.

“He’s not an engineer,” she says. “We have high school educations. But we knew it had to burn really hot, and we knew the basic components. Dave put them together and added a burner. But he was afraid the flame was going to go straight out the stack and catch something on fire. So he

added a deflector plate, just for safety.”

When the Moneyhuns had their burner tested, results showed an astonishing 99.9 percent efficiency in eradicating VOCs. “We were absolutely astounded. We didn’t think it would work,” Abby Moneyhun says.

The only problem: No one knew why it worked.

A group of engineers analyzed the MESSCO burner – now called The VOCinerator – and determined the key was the deflector plate Dave had added merely as a safety precaution.

“When the flame went up and hit that deflector plate, it would create a vortex,” Abby Moneyhun says. “It would spin and burn and re-burn and then come out clean.” While the Moneyhuns were busy testing their new invention, the state was legislating additional environmental rules. As a result, MESSCO had to tweak the VOCinerator to burn new types of VOCs, including BTEX. Meanwhile, Dave and Abby Moneyhun realized they needed to simplify their manufacturing process.

After a lengthy re-development period, the Moneyhuns again sent the burner out for testing. Once again, results showed a 99.9 percent VOC and BTEX destruction.

The product now meets all state mandates, and orders are coming in fast. The company has been gearing up for mass production, constructing a new building, ordering more equipment, and hiring employees as fast as it can find them.

“I honestly have no idea how big this will get,” Moneyhun says. “The other day, Dave and I thought how when we started, the company was just this tiny building, and now it’s grown to 60,000 square feet, with all these employees. And this is just the beginning. The sky’s the limit.”

This VOCinerator, produced by Rock Springs-based MESSCO and Moneyhun Inc., burns the excess gases normally released during gas production to dramatically reduce the greenhouse gases released during gas production.

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J. KYLE KEENER

Business | Biz Briefs

Bitter Creek Brewing, located in historic downtown Rock Springs, serves a full menu but is better known for its handmade microbrew beers and has a selection that changes based on the seasons.

A BREW BY ANY OTHER NAME Concocting beer names is one perk of owning a brew pub. Bitter Creek Brewing in Rock Springs brews and serves seven main offerings, which include Sweetwater Wheat, Red Desert Ale, Boar’s Tusk and Coal Porter.

As names go, though, A Beer Named Bob is hard to beat. Owner Jane Caller says a family friend inspired the moniker for Bitter Creek’s rich, complex stout.

Bob’s handlebar moustache is captured on the bottle label designed by the Callers’ daughter.

Bitter Creek opened in November 1997. The pub seats 130 people and produces its brew in 10-barrel batches.

It has a diverse menu of appetizers, soups, salads, pizza, pastas and sandwiches. A separate menu with nearly 20 specialty burgers includes the Breath Bomb, Mafia Madness, Polynesian Paradise and the Dude Rance.

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Bitter Creek doesn’t bottle its beer, selling it only at the restaurant on Broadway Street. Mitch Swedelund, a local firefighter, is the brewmaster. He’s the fourth person to hold the important post; the first, Caller says, was a chemist from one of the mines who helped create the recipes.

Bitter Creek is open Monday-Saturday.

Visit www.bittercreekbrewing.com or call (307) 362-4782.

TRONA IS RARE BUT ITS USE IS COMMON Trona finds its way into scores of products, but few people outside Wyoming have ever heard of it. Its chemical name is sodium sesquircarbonate. Trona is the raw material for soda ash, which is used to make glass, paper and other products.

Sweetwater County is awash with the stuff. Most companies mine the material and/or process it into soda ash. Church

and Dwight Co. Inc. is different. The company uses the material to make laundry detergent, kitty litter, baking soda, carpet deodorizer and other valueadded products under the Arm & Hammer brand name. The plant has expanded over time and is now 500,000 square feet, employing 160 people who work in shifts 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

“There is a lifetime of trona here,” says plant manager Paul Parker.

And then some.

Geologic forces some 50 million years ago left behind an estimated 100 billion tons of trona wedged between shale and sandstone layers. That’s enough to meet the world’s needs for another 2,000 years.

HEALTHY CROPS START WITH FERTILIZER When it comes to fertilizer, it’s not all about nitrogen.

Phosphorus is a key, though slowacting, soil ingredient that helps plants S W E E T WAT E R C O U N T Y

send roots into the soil so they can take in other nutrients. “Plants can’t grow without phosphate in some form,” says Eric Schillie, manager of Simplot Phosphates LLC in Rock Springs.

Simplot makes dry and liquid phosphate fertilizers, plus a fluoridation additive for public water systems.

The company is part of J. R. Simplot Co., an agribusiness giant that has annual sales of $3 billion in food, fertilizer, turf, horticulture and cattle feeding. Rock Springs, Schillie says, is ideal because a raw material for the phosphate products is molten sulphur that comes off the waste from natural gas fields. Simplot mines low-cost rock in Utah, processes phosphate and ships it to the Wyoming plant through a 100-mile pipeline in slurry form.

Simplot bought the plant from another, expanded it in 1996 and again in 2001.

Employment is just over 200 people, and the place runs 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

“We are looking at possible expansion plans,” Schillie says.

TAKING STOCK One hundred years ago, sheep ranchers in western Wyoming banded together to form an association to provide grazing land for their animals during the winter and keep outside ranchers from bringing their herds across the line.

The Rock Springs Grazing Association remains a force today. Over the decades, the association bought up leases of former railroad land and now controls an area roughly 80 miles long by 40 miles wide.

The bylaws specified the sale of no more than 100 shares of stock. Each share allows the owner to graze 3,500 head of sheep each winter, and amendments later allowed 500 head of cattle per share instead.

“Back at the turn of the century, we had a number of sheep growers trying to build their businesses, and people went where they wanted when they wanted,” says John Hay, association president. “In the fall, 800,000 to 900,000 head would come across the Green River from Utah and Idaho, and that number was more than this land could handle.”

The association continues to manage grazing and open its lands to public recreation.

“Everybody coexists,” Hay says.

S W E E T WAT E R C O U N T Y

CASING COMPANY RIDES DRILLING SURGE The oil and gas business is made up of many businesses other than the multinational companies most people are familiar with.

Getting the raw material out of the ground takes layers of contractors with highly specialized skills, and when a major firm took over the casing company where Jerry Depoyster worked, he and three other partners set out to form their own business.

They founded Rocky Mountain Casing Crews in 1994 with about 20 people.

Their timing was perfect. Rocky Mountain is riding the most recent boom in this

region of Wyoming – home to one of the biggest deposits of natural gas in the nation.

The company has about 100 workers now and installs hundreds of miles of casings for oil and natural gas drilling each year.

“We’ve been very fortunate,” Depoyster says. “We had a couple of customers out there but a lot of friends.”

He likes that his workers are local, pay their taxes here and spend their money close to home.

“The majority of the drilling is done by the independents and that’s who we want to work for,” Depoyster says. “It is more personal.”

– Pamela Coyle

Looking for a real estate company that stands out above the rest?

iÀV > ÊÀi V>Ì *À «iÀÌÞÊ > >}i i Ì 7iÊV> Ê i «ÊÞ ÕÊÃi ÊÞ ÕÀÊ ÕÃi Õ ÃiÀÛ ViÊLÀ iÀ>}i -«iV > â }Ê Ê ÛiÃÌ i ÌÊ«À «iÀÌÞ 7iÊV> Ê i «ÊÞ ÕÊLÕÞÊ>Ê ÕÃiÊÌ Ê > iÊÞ ÕÀÊ i Alpine Property Management, LLC Tina Linkenauger, Broker 642 Pilot Butte Ave. Rock Springs, WY 82901 ­ÎäÇ®ÊÎÈÓ ÈÎnÊUÊÜÜÜ°> «ÜÞ °V

Serving Sweetwater County since 1997

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We kindly welcome you to:

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www.epa.gov/greenvehicles.

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Business | Economic Profile

SWEETWATER COUNTY BUSINESS CLIMATE The railroad is still a major presence in Sweetwater County. Mining, particularly of trona, is the major industry in the area. With the interstate, railroad, fiber optics and other important infrastructures, Rock Springs makes an ideal location to serve the west.

ECONOMIC RESOURCES Sweetwater Economic Development Association 1400 Dewar Drive, Ste. 205A Rock Springs, WY 82901 (307) 352-6874, (800) 803-6362 www.sweda.net

TAX RATES

2% County Sales Tax

4% State Sales Tax

6% Total Sales Tax

Rock Springs Chamber of Commerce 1897 Dewar Drive, P.O. Box 398 Rock Springs, WY 82902-0398 (307) 362-3771, (800) 46-DUNES www.rockspringswyoming.net Wyoming Business Council 214 West 15th St. Cheyenne, WY 82002 (307) 777-2800 www.wyomingbusiness.org

Green River Chamber of Commerce 1155 W. Flaming Gorge Way Green River, WY 82935 (307) 875-5711 www.grchamber.com Green River Futures, Inc. P.O. Box 130 Green River, WY 82935 (307) 871-1941 www.greenriverfutures.com Sweetwater Travel and Tourism 404 N St., Suite 304 Rock Springs, WY 82902 (307) 382-2538 www.tourwyoming.com

TOP EMPLOYERS Employer

Sector

FMC Wyoming Corporation

Trona, mining and processing

888

Halliburton

Oil field service

720

Sweetwater County School District, #1

Public schools

578

General Chemical Company

Trona, mining and processing

520

Bridger Coal Company

Surface coal mining

443

OCI

Trona, mining and processing

430

PacifiCorp

Power generation

378

Solvay Minerals

Trona, mining and processing

426

Schlumberger Pumping and Well Service

Oil field service

325

Memorial Hospital of Sweetwater County

Health care

322

Sweetwater County School District 2

Public schools

319

City of Rock Springs

City government

218

Union Pacific Railroad

Railroads

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Employees

200

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Business | Economic Profile TRANSPORTATION Rock Springs - Sweetwater County Airport P.O. Box 1987 Rock Springs, WY 82902 (307) 352-6880 www.rockspringsairport.com STAR Transit 1471 Dewar Drive, Suite 123 Rock Springs, WY 82901 (307) 382-7827 www.ridestartransit.com

GOVERNMENT OFFICES City of Rock Springs 212 D St. Rock Springs, WY 82901 (307) 352-1500 www.rswy.net

MORE EO ONLINE imagessweetwatercounty.com

City of Green River www.cityofgreenriver.org

More facts, stats and community information, including relocation tools and links to resources.

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Sweetwater County Government 80 W. Flaming Gorge Way Green River, WY 82935 (307) 872-6400 www.co.sweet.wy.us

LABOR STATISTICS Labor Force 24,244 Annual Average Wage $49,660 Average Hourly Rate $23.88 Unemployment Rate 2.2% (Sept. 2008) Average weekly wage first qtr. 2008, $955

TRONA Sweetwater County is the most industrialized county in Wyoming. Over half of the workforce is employed by industry, principally mining, petroleum, power generation and related services.

Sweetwater County has the world’s largest trona reserve.

S W E E T WAT E R C O U N T Y

Image Gallery |

PHOTO BY J. KYLE KEENER

The high desert scenery of Rock Springs is punctuated by dramatic rock formations that dot the landscape.

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Image Gallery

46

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S W E E T WAT E R C O U N T Y

PHOTO BY J. KYLE KEENER

More than 2,500 wild horses roam free on the public lands of southwestern Wyoming.

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Image Gallery |

PHOTO BY J. KYLE KEENER

A child peers out the window of the Beaver House Restaurant at the Currant Creek Cattle Co. guest ranch.

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S W E E T WAT E R C O U N T Y

Education

Training Ground AT WESTERN WYOMING COMMUNITY COLLEGE, INDUSTRY AND EDUCATION TEAM UP

C

ollege is a place to prepare for the future. And just like aspiring English teachers need to learn about composition and grammar, students looking for a future in the industrial sector need classes geared specifically for them as well.

At Western Wyoming Community College, students are provided with a niche focus from a school that is also endorsed by local businesses. And with the joint partnership of the two, WWCC students are getting the most comprehensive, hands-on training available. A bonus is that when they graduate, they will be ready for the workforce.

“The degrees our students are seeking give them long-term job prospects in the area,” says Joanna Fritz, coordinator of marketing and public information for WWCC. “These are not fly in and fly out kinds of jobs.”

Because of the area’s proliferation of coal mines and plants, students are flocking to programs in welding tech-

nology, plant operations, oil and gas technology, mining maintenance, industrial maintenance, compression technology, diesel technology and heavy equipment maintenance, and electrical and instrumentation technology.

“Natural gas compression is in its second year of students, and that was a direct response to industry requests we have something that teaches these students those kinds of skills,” Fritz says.

In fact, local businesses wanted skilled workers coming from the area so badly, they teamed up to fund the new well site training facility. It is a closed loop facility so students don’t actually drill into the ground, even though it is fully functioning.

“It is unique in the world in that it is the only training facility like this at a college,” Fritz says. “It was built, completely funded by $2.3 million, by a group of 17 companies who came together. It was interesting to watch competitors collaborate on something

that is important to all of them.”

Student training doesn’t end at the school, as most of the local companies offer internships.

Once they receive their certificates, it’s not likely they have seen the last of Western Wyoming either.

“In addition to degree programs we also offer continuing education for different industries,” Fritz adds. “A coal mine will use workforce training to do MSHA and OSHA training and offer refreshers on different kinds of things.”

The school and local industry leaders work so closely that new courses are routinely based on growing needs.

“They will say, ‘I need this, this and this,’” Fritz says. “They either train on campus or go out to the mine and hold a class for those students. We work with the industry really closely.”

– Hollie Deese

Western Wyoming Community College www.wwcc.wy.edu 2500 College Drive Rock Springs, WY 82901 (307) 382-1600

Western Wyoming Community College features outstanding archeology and technical programs that fit the needs of local employers as well as offering students a chance to explore different fields. PHOTOS BY J. KYLE KEENER

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Education

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Growth Spurt SCHOOL DISTRICT EMBARKS ON AMBITIOUS EXPANSION PLAN had about 250 to 300 new students for the past two “We’ve years,” says Paul Grube, superintendent of Sweetwater County

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School District Number One. “And in the last five years, we have seen 1,000 new students. It started slowly but has increased steadily for two years.”

The District has a solid plan in place to ensure all students’ needs are met. New buildings are planned, as well as the renovation of existing structures.

In the coming years, look for a new K-4 school, which broke ground in July 2008, to accommodate 450 students and two new 5th- and 6th-grade buildings to accommodate 492 students in each building.

White Mountain Junior High will be remodeled, and a new addition to the school will accommodate the projected 983 students.

Future plans don’t stop there.

“The buildings are full, but we have been able to manage the enrollment so far,” Grube says. “We have to hope all construction is on time or ahead of schedule. The District has worked very closely with the Wyoming School Facilities Commission to meet the future student growth.”

– Hollie Deese

Paul Grube, superintendent of Sweetwater County School District #1, has been gearing up for future growth as the school district expands.

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“Technology for a Cleaner Environment” Moneyhun Companies Since beginning as Moneyhun Welding and Fabrication in 1980, the Moneyhun Companies have expanded over the past 28 years to include Moneyhun Field Services, Inc. and Moneyhun Equipment Sales and Service Company, Inc. (MESSCO) MESSCO designs and manufactures customized products to meet our client’s needs in our ASME coded facility. We specialize in glycol dehydration units and emission eliminators. MESSCO’s VOCinerator™ has been designed to eliminate BTEX as well as VOCs at 99% efficiency. With its low profile, small footprint and low temperature burn rates the patented VOCinerator™ is smokeless and meets all DEQ standards making it the most environmentally friendly emissions eliminator on the market.

With our manufacturing, engineering capabilities and highly qualified personnel, MESSCO has the resources and expertise to deliver, install, service, refurbish and maintain oil field equipment. Since its humble beginnings the Moneyhun Companies have become a leading supplier of quality products and innovative environmental solutions for the oil and gas industry nationwide.

Our business complex consists of 60,000 sq. ft. of workshop space on a 10-acre industrial site and is one of the largest welding and fabrication facilities in Wyoming. We are currently ranked in the top 30 employers in Sweetwater County.

Our employees are trained and certified to meet strict safety standards governed by DOT, OSHA, ANSI and customer specific regulations.

Employment Opportunities Field supervisors Crew pushers Welders Equipment operators Roustabout laborers Field operators CDL drivers Mechanical engineer with PE background Production supervisors Code welders Pipe fitters Dehy instrumentation techs Assemblers Crane operators Pipeline operation

Benefits Competitive wages, medical and dental insurance, retirement plan with 3% employer match on gross wages and vacation pay For more information on current employment opportunities, contact human resources at (307) 382-2926 or visit our Web site at www.moneyhun.com.

Moneyhun Companies ÓÓÓäÊ1« > `Ê-Ì°ÊUÊ, V Ê-«À }Ã]Ê79ÊnÓ ä£ ­ÎäÇ®ÊÎnÓ Ó ÓÈÊUÊÜÜÜ° iÞ Õ °V

MONEYHUN EQUIPMENT SALES & SERVICE COMPANY

Locally Manufactured, Engineered and Refurbished Oil Field Production Equipment

ASME Code, National Board, R&U Stamped

Automated Sub Arc Welders

Vernon Computerized Pipe Cutting Machine – Diameters 4”-54”

Field Installation, Maintenance and Repair

ESAB CNC Plasma Cutting Table

Dehydrator Cleaning and Maintenance

CNC Tubing Bender

Tank Battery Installation

Moneyhun Companies 2220 Upland St. Rock Springs, WY 82901 (307) 382-2926 www.moneyhun.com

Pipeline Laterals Well Hook-Ups Field and Plant Operations 30-ton Crane Services (70 ft. of Boom) Large Forklift Services Hot Shot Services

Look ma!

No liens!

Coyote Creek Steakhouse & Saloon Fine dining in a casual atmosphere! Steaks aged and cut in-house so you know you are getting the best flavor. Made-to-order pasta and truly fresh seafood. Full bar. Made-from-scratch dessert.

Come join us at 404 N. St. t Rock Springs, WY 82901 t (307) 382-4100

Wyoming Land Title Company for your title insurance and real estate closing

Wyoming Land Title Company First American Title Insurance Company & 'MBNJOH (PSHF 8BZ (SFFO 3JWFS 8:

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S W E E T WAT E R C O U N T Y

Health & Wellness

Family Dynamics Counseling Inc. Today’s solutions for your future Jill A. Johnson, MS, LMFT Paul N. Nicksich, MS, LPC, LAT, CCMHC, MAC, SAP Margaret M. Flores, BA, CAP Renee A. Schroeder, MS, LPC, NCC Wendy J. Simek, MSW, LCSW

Personal & Confidential Quality Services:

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Our approach is to provide solutions and empower persons with tools and resources they can take away with them from therapy.

State Certified Adult & Adolescent Substance Abuse Services:

1 ÊUÊ iÛi Ê ÊUÊ vÌiÀV>Ài V ÊEÊ ÀÕ}Ê Û> Õ>Ì Ã 4000 Dewar Drive Rock Springs, WY 82901 (307) 382-3010 Fax (307) 382-6881 www.fdcounseling.com

Hager Chiropractic Health Clinic Enjoy relief and well-being with a healthy spine and nervous system …

Treatments designed for your age, condition and lifestyle.

Gentle and effective for: )FBEBDIF t /FDL 1BJO t 8IJQMBTI -PXFS #BDL 1BJO t 4IPVMEFS 1BJO ,OFF 1BJO t 'JCSPNZBMHJB t .FOTUSVBM 1BJO 4QPSUT *OKVSJFT t 3PEFP )PSTFCBDL *OKVSJFT Children and Infants: &BS *OGFDUJPOT t $PMJD t "%)% &EVDBUJPO 6OVTVBM $SZJOH t 1PPS "QQFUJUF 4MFFQJOH %JTPSEFST t 4DPMJPTJT 'SFF *OJUJBM $POTVMUBUJPO DR. LANCE HAGER Chiropractic Physician

362-3700

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Health & Wellness

Expand the Hospital: Stat!

HOSPITAL OVERHAUL KEEPS APACE WITH GROWING HEALTH-CARE NEEDS

M

1970s when inpatient treatment was longer and more common, but health care and the region’s needs have changed.

“We found ourselves with a hospital that had unused patient beds and inadequate space to accommodate imaging, labs and outpatient surgery,” Gilchrist says. “We had to recapture the space not being used.”

Furthermore, since 2000, the population in Rock Springs has skyrocketed 40 percent; meanwhile, overall growth in Sweetwater County during the same period is about 15 percent.

In all, the construction is adding 67,000 square feet to the existing 146,000-square-foot hospital. All work is expected to be finished by fall 2009.

The revamp includes larger and more welcoming lobby and waiting areas.

The hospital has deep roots in Rock Springs. Wyoming voters in 1892 picked

the town as the spot for a new hospital; the legislature approved a levy to pay for it, and the Union Pacific Railway donated 15 acres for the site.

With the new expansion, visitors and patients will pass through a memorial “healing garden” dedicated to Dr. William V. Pryich before they reach the front door. Pryich was a family practitioner who served the community for 41 years until he retired in 2006. Pryich passed away in June 2008 at the age of 79.

Anna Kallas, director of the Memorial Hospital Foundation, says the garden will be a way to honor other doctors, nurses and family members too.

The landscaped space will be “a nice and welcoming” way to enter the hospital, which is transforming from its roots as a small-town hospital to a fully equipped 21st-century health-care institution, Kallas says.

– Pamela Coyle

J. KYLE KEENER

emorial Hospital has been on College Drive since the 1970s, when the county built a new $13 million facility. A $6.5 million expansion and renovation followed in 1986. Now a $56 million project is overhauling Memorial Hospital of Sweetwater County to better meet the needs of a growing community.

A new, bigger emergency department opened in November 2008. Its 18,000 square feet is now about triple the original space. The obstetrics unit doubled in size, and Memorial added significantly more space for same-day surgery. Those projects are on track to wrap up by the end of 2008.

Memorial is licensed for 99 inpatient beds but in recent years has staffed only 77 of them, says Doug Gilchrist, the hospital’s director of facilities support services. The hospital was built in the

The Memorial Hospital of Sweetwater County has undergone a major expansion in its emergency room, obstetrics facilities and surgical space, as well as a new, welcoming patient lobby and waiting area.

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art

on the

Green Schedule at a Glance Friday, August 21, 2009 UÊSculpture Reveal 1:30 p.m.

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Saturday, August 22, 2009 UÊÓ{ ÕÀÊ ÛiÊ-VÕ «Ì }ÊEÊÓ

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Arts & Culture

School Art Graduates ARTS CENTER HAS EVOLVED FROM SMALL HIGH SCHOOL COLLECTION

W

hat began as an extracurricular high school student project to collect art for classrooms evolved into the Community Fine Arts Center, a nonprofit multi-arts center in Rock Springs with a most unique history.

In 1939, high school science teacher Elmer Halseth purchased Shack Alley by Henrietta Wood to hang at the school. During the summer, he traveled America buying paintings, drawings and etchings for the students, using money gathered from school carnivals, bake sales and donation jars.

“From this high school art collection, we now have a wonderful collaboration of agencies to provide cultural experiences for the community,” says Debora Soule, Community Fine Arts director.

Now, much of the nearly 600-piece collection is on display at the center with some still gracing the walls of the high school library and administration offices.

“The collection had outgrown the school walls, the public was interested in seeing it, and they wanted it in a safe place,” says Jennifer Messer, assistant to the director.

The collection still grows through donations by visiting artists, students and the public.

“When a class graduated, they donated artwork in the name of the class,” Messer says. “A

couple of years ago, when Lincoln Elementary school closed, the student body had money they could spend. To leave something lasting, they decided to buy art to add to the collection. We helped contact local artists who agreed to let the kids vote on which one to buy.”

Over the years, the collection has garnered works by famous artists including Norman Rockwell and Grandma Moses.

“Rockwell’s oil painting Willie Gillis: New Year’s Eve was on the cover of the January 1st, 1944 issue of The Saturday Evening Post. Halseth purchased the painting at an estate sale in Denver with funds from the graduating class of 1953.

After being in the collection for several years, it was sent for conservation where it was discovered the word “Post” had been covered up, perhaps by Rockwell himself, we don’t really know. But someone placed tinfoil over the canvas and repainted the upper corner so that no one could tell it was there. Now in its original state, it holds a prominent place in the collection.”

The CFAC has also become known for offering a wide variety of performance arts – from symphony and opera to street dancers and puppeteers.

“We are sure glad Mr. Halseth wanted to share his love of the arts with his students. We all are richer for it,” says Soule.

– Hollie Deese

Rock Springs Arts COMMUNITY FINE ARTS CENTER 400 C. St. Rock Springs, WY 82901 (307) 362-6212 www.cfac4art.com Hours: Monday-Thursday: 10 a.m.-6 p.m.

Friday-Saturday: 12 p.m.-5 p.m.

Closed Sundays & Major holidays

The Fine Arts Center in Rock Springs began as a high school art collection but is now home to paintings by Grandma Moses and Norman Rockwell, among others. PHOTO BY J. KYLE KEENER

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Becky Costantino

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RC Jones, Artist/Proprietor 7iÃÌiÀ ÊUÊ7 ` viÊUÊ Ìi « À>ÀÞ * ÀÌÀ> ÌÊUÊ-Ì Ê viÊUÊ > `ÃV>«ià Óä{Ê i ÌiÀÊ-Ì°ÊUÊ, V Ê-«À }Ã]Ê79ÊnÓ ä£ ­ÎäÇ®ÊÎÈÓ Èä£ ÊUÊ­nÈÈ®ÊÈx{ ÓxÓÎ ÜiÃÌ vVi ÌiÀJ} > °V ÊUÊÜÜÜ°ÜiÃÌ vVi ÌiÀ°V

192 beautifully decorated guest rooms 100% non-smoking

Keeping you

#1

with all your real estate needs!

Brokerage Southwest 601 Broadway Rock Springs, WY 82901

58

Penny’s Diner open 24 hours serving breakfast, lunch and dinner Free local calls 25" TV with cable Guest laundry facilities

Attractions Near Flaming Gorge Reservoir Easy stop over Yellowstone National Park Jackson Hole Ski Resort I-80 at Exit 89

(307) 389-4567 (307) 362-1275

1170 W. Flaming Gorge Way Green River, WY 82935

costis@wyoming.com www.brokeragesouthwest.com

Reservations Call s 42%%

I M AG E S S W E E T WAT E R C O U N T Y. C O M

S W E E T WAT E R C O U N T Y

Sports & Recreation

No Place for Couch Potatoes STATE-OF-THE-ART RECREATIONAL FACILITIES OFFER ACTIVITIES FOR ALL AGES AND ABILITIES

W

ith a population of 30,000, Rock Springs boasts more than its fair share of recreational opportunities.

Beyond what the rugged Wyoming landscape has to offer – horseback riding, all-terrain vehicle expeditions and watersports – this is a community that takes its urban recreational opportunities seriously.

The Rock Springs Family Recreation S W E E T WAT E R C O U N T Y

Center has more than 129,000 square feet of athletic hustle and bustle in its gleaming facility.

Patrons can choose between a gym, swimming pool, weight room, racquetball courts and cardio training.

There are also indoor and outdoor playgrounds, running track, driving and putting ranges, and fitness classes “Even people from outside the town make use of our facilities,” says Dave

J. KYLE KEENER

At the city-owned White Mountain Golf Course, everyone from newbies to old pros tee off.

Lansang, Rock Springs’ director of Parks and Recreation. “One hundred twenty thousand separate admissions came through the door of the family recreation center last year. It’s such a large facility with so much to do. If you want the biggest and best, you come here.”

At the Rock Springs Civic Center, facilities include handball courts and a climbing wall. Fitness classes for all ages are also on offer.

Rock Springs residents also enjoy 20 neighborhood parks, the largest municipal golf course in Wyoming, and the only full-size indoor ice arena within 150 miles. Figure skating clubs and hockey tournaments have developed.

The city runs leagues in softball, volleyball, baseball, and Young American Football.

But even with all these activities, expansion is needed. Rock Springs recently completed seeding a third nine-hole golf course at the Paul J. Wataha Recreation Complex. A $7.6 million aquatic augmentation is in the works. One outdoor pool and one indoor year-round pool, as well as a zero-depth splash park, will be completed in 2010.

“We like to think we’re doing something 12 months per year in terms of recreational opportunities,” Lansang says.

The recently revived soapbox derby is a prime example. Contestants race a quarter-mile down a hill, with only human-propelled vehicles allowed. “We took that from a local event that used to be held 30 or 40 years ago, when people created their own homemade cars. We’re trying to build that up to be something very special.” Lansang says this year’s winner spent the whole month of July working on his entry.

“At times it seems like the whole town’s doing something,” Lansang says.

“We spend millions on recreation and quality of life. The community considers it a real value.”

– Jon Brooks I M AG E S S W E E T WAT E R C O U N T Y. C O M

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Community Profile

SWEETWATER COUNTY SNAPSHOT Green River is the county seat of Sweetwater County and is its second-largest city. Sweetwater County is home to 10,500 square miles of high desert adventure and offers excellent recreation opportunities, affordable housing and a variety of cultural activities to choose from.

CLIMATE

MEDIA OUTLETS

8.02 inches

Rocket-Miner 215 D. St. Rock Springs, WY 82901 (307) 362-3736, (888) 443-3736 www.rocketminer.com

Avg Annual Precipitation

5F January Low Temperature

MEDICAL FACILITIES

33 F

Castle Rock Hospital District 1400 Uinta Drive Green River, WY 82935 (307) 872-4500 www.crhd.org

January High Temperature

Memorial Hospital of Sweetwater County 1200 College Drive Rock Springs, WY 82901 (307) 362-3711 www.sweetwatermedical center.com Red Desert Clinic 2761 Commercial Way Rock Springs, WY 82901 (307) 362-6070 Red Desert Insta-Care 761 Commercial Way Rock Springs, WY 82901 (307) 382-3064

Green River Star Uinta Drive, P.O. Box 580 Green River, WY 82935 (307) 875-3103 www.greenriverstar.com

CITY LINK

49 F July Low Temperature

www.rswy.net www.cityofgreenriver.com www.rockspringswyoming.net

86 F

www.grchamber.com

July High Temperature

www.tourwyoming.com

MORE EO ONLINE imagessweetwatercounty.com More facts, stats and community information, including relocation tools and links to resources.

THIS SECTION IS SPONSORED BY

Willow Ridge Crafts, Inc. Featured craft supplies include: Fabric Yarn Needle arts DMC threads Needle felting Kidsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; crafts Scrapbooking Cake decorating Candlemaking Miscellaneous crafts Beading Floral Leather craft Paint and brushes Notions, kits, books and classes Open 10 a.m.-6 p.m., Tues.-Fri. 10 a.m.-4 p.m., Sat.

S W E E T WAT E R C O U N T Y

625 Broadway Rock Springs, WY 82901 (307) 362-2556

I M AG E S S W E E T WAT E R C O U N T Y. C O M

61

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62

I M AG E S S W E E T WAT E R C O U N T Y. C O M

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S W E E T WAT E R C O U N T Y

Community Profile EDUCATIONAL FACILITIES Sweetwater County School District #1 3550 Foothill Blvd.

Rock Springs, WY 82901 (307) 352-3400 www.sweetwater1.org Sweetwater County School District #2 320 Monroe Ave. Green River, WY 82935 (307) 872-5501 www.sw2.k12.wy.us Western Wyoming Community College 2500 College Drive Rock Springs, WY 82901 (307) 382-1600 www.wwcc.cc.wy.us Green River Bible Baptist School 800 Homestead Drive Green River, WY 82935 (307) 875-4405 Holy Spirit Catholic School 210 A St., Rock Springs, WY 82901, (307) 362-6077

COMMUNITY RESOURCES Sweetwater County Library System 300 N. First E. Green River, WY 82935 (307) 872-3200, ext. 5100 www.sweetwaterlibraries.com Sweetwater County Clerk 80 W. Flaming Gorge Way, P.O. Box 730 Green River, WY 82935 (307) 872-3732 www.sweet.wy.us/clerk Wyoming Department of Transportation - Rock Springs 3200 Elk St. Rock Springs, WY 82901 (307) 352-3001 Sweetwater County Public Health Department 550 Uinta, Suite E Green River, WY 82935 (307) 872-6320 wdh.state.wy.us

S W E E T WAT E R C O U N T Y

ECONOMIC RESOURCES Rock Springs Chamber of Commerce 1897 Dewar Drive, P.O. Box 398 Rock Springs, WY 82902-0398 (307) 362-3771, (800) 46-DUNES www.rockspringswyoming.net Sweetwater Economic Development Association 1400 Dewar Drive, Suite 205A Rock Springs, WY 82901 (307) 352-6874, (800) 803-6362 www.sweda.net Green River Chamber of Commerce 1155 W. Flaming Gorge Way Green River, WY 82935 (307) 875-5711 www.grchamber.com Wyoming Business Council 214 West 15th St. Cheyenne, WY 82002 (307) 777-2800 www.wyomingbusiness.org Green River Futures Inc. P.O. Box 130 Green River, WY 82935 (307) 871-1941 www.greenriverfutures.com Sweetwater Travel and Tourism 404 N St., Ste. 304 Rock Springs, WY 82902 (307) 382-2538 www.tourwyoming.com

Commercial, Industrial Investment Real Estate Broker Jim Anselmi Brokerage Southwest 601 Broadway Rock Springs, WY 82901 (307) 362-6169 (307) 371-6085 cell (307) 362-1275 office

jim@jimanselmiccim.com www.jimanselmiccim.com

We are the foundation for all of your real estate needs!

Forty years of real estate experience including consulting, selling and listing commercial real estate, appraising, teaching prelicensing, certified in-home inspection, radon, lead-based paint, asbestos and all kinds of investment analysis.

I am active in the Local Board, State and National Realtors.

Rock Springs city planning and zoning, SWEDA (Sweetwater County Economic Development Association).

Born and raised in Rock Springs, Wyoming and have developed extensive contact within the local community as well as the national commercial real estate community.

I have many commercial and industrial listings and if you want something special, I will see if I can “dig something up” for you.

CCIM (Certified Commercial Investment Member) is a Commercial Real Estate designation by the National Association of Realtors* since 1987.

I M AG E S S W E E T WAT E R C O U N T Y. C O M

63

Brokerage Southwest Maggie Riley Broker/Owner

"We are the foundation for all of your real estate needs!"

Sweetwater County's largest office with 18 agents

601 Broadway U Rock Springs, WY 82901 (307) 362-1275 U www.brokeragesouthwest.com

Where to Go • What to Do • Who to See

About Time Travel, Inc. 1215 A Elk St. Rock Springs, WY 82901 (307) 382-TRIP

Tuesday through Friday from Noon-5 p.m.or by appointment Free Gift-Pak 514 Broadway • Rock Springs, WY 82901 (307) 382-5357 • donna@sweetwaterwelcome.com

Virtuoso Member

Over 20 years of experience

A professional solution for your travel needs www.travelsociety.com

Heather A. Hager Financial Advisor 2241 Foothill Blvd.

Ste. B Rock Springs, WY 82901 (307) 382-2944 hhager@wradvisors.com Waddell & Reed, Inc. (09/07) Member SIPC

64

I M AG E S S W E E T WAT E R C O U N T Y. C O M

S W E E T WAT E R C O U N T Y

J. KYLE KEENER

Photo Finish

M

oonlight over Sweetwater County illuminates the awe-inspiring rock formations that give rise to its nickname of â&#x20AC;&#x153;Gateway to the West.â&#x20AC;? By day, however, the rugged Wyoming landscape serves as a beautiful backdrop to an emerging urban center.

S W E E T WAT E R C O U N T Y

I M AG E S S W E E T WAT E R C O U N T Y. C O M

65

Now Showing in Our Video Gallery

Sit back and enjoy a preview of Sweetwater County.

Explore its landscapes, cultural offerings, food and fun.

See its downtowns, neighborhoods, parks and attractions.

Experience the history, hot spots and local happenings.

Sweetwater County is rated L for Livability.

imagessweetwatercounty.com

TM

SWEET WATER COUNT Y SENIOR EDITOR ANITA WADHWANI COPY EDITOR JOYCE CARUTHERS ASSOCIATE EDITORS LISA BATTLES, JESSY YANCEY ONLINE CONTENT MANAGER MATT BIGELOW STAFF WRITERS CAROL COWAN, KEVIN LITWIN CONTRIBUTING WRITERS JON BROOKS, PAMELA COYLE, HOLLIE DEESE, ELLEN MARGULIES DATA MANAGER RANETTA SMITH REGIONAL SALES MANAGER CHARLES FITZGIBBON INTEGRATED MEDIA MANAGER JOE THOMPSON SALES SUPPORT MANAGER SARA SARTIN SENIOR PHOTOGRAPHER BRIAN M CCORD STAFF PHOTOGRAPHERS JEFF ADKINS, TODD BENNETT, ANTONY BOSHIER, IAN CURCIO, J. KYLE KEENER PHOTOGRAPHY ASSISTANT ANNE WHITLOW CREATIVE DIRECTOR KEITH HARRIS WEB DEVELOPMENT DIRECTOR BRIAN SMITH PRODUCTION DIRECTOR NATASHA LORENS ASST. PRODUCTION DIRECTOR CHRISTINA CARDEN PRE-PRESS COORDINATOR HAZEL RISNER PRODUCTION PROJECT MANAGERS MELISSA BRACEWELL, KATIE MIDDENDORF, JILL WYATT SENIOR GRAPHIC DESIGNERS LAURA GALLAGHER, KRIS SEXTON, CANDICE SWEET, VIKKI WILLIAMS GRAPHIC DESIGN ERICA HINES, ALISON HUNTER, JESSICA MANNER, JANINE MARYLAND, AMY NELSON, MARCUS SNYDER WEB PROJECT MANAGERS ANDY HARTLEY, YAMEL RUIZ WEB DESIGN RYAN DUNLAP, CARL SCHULZ COLOR IMAGING TECHNICIAN TWILA ALLEN AD TRAFFIC MARCIA MILLAR, SARAH MILLER, PATRICIA MOISAN, RAVEN PETTY CHAIRMAN GREG THURMAN PRESIDENT/PUBLISHER BOB SCHWARTZMAN EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT RAY LANGEN SR. V.P./CLIENT DEVELOPMENT JEFF HEEFNER SR. V.P./SALES CARLA H. THURMAN SR. V.P./OPERATIONS CASEY E. HESTER V.P./SALES HERB HARPER V.P./SALES TODD POTTER V.P./VISUAL CONTENT MARK FORESTER V.P./TRAVEL PUBLISHING SYBIL STEWART V.P./EDITORIAL DIRECTOR TEREE CARUTHERS MANAGING EDITORS/BUSINESS MAURICE FLIESS, BILL McMEEKIN MANAGING EDITOR/COMMUNITY KIM MADLOM MANAGING EDITOR/CUSTOM KIM NEWSOM MANAGING EDITOR/TRAVEL SUSAN CHAPPELL PHOTOGRAPHY DIRECTOR JEFFREY S. OTTO CONTROLLER CHRIS DUDLEY ACCOUNTING MORIAH DOMBY, RICHIE FITZPATRICK, DIANA GUZMAN, MARIA McFARLAND, LISA OWENS RECRUITING/TRAINING DIRECTOR SUZY WALDRIP COMMUNITY PROMOTION DIRECTOR CINDY COMPERRY DISTRIBUTION DIRECTOR GARY SMITH INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY DIRECTOR YANCEY TURTURICE NETWORK ADMINISTRATOR JAMES SCOLLARD IT SERVICE TECHNICIAN RYAN SWEENEY HUMAN RESOURCES MANAGER PEGGY BLAKE CUSTOM SALES SUPPORT RACHAEL GOLDSBERRY SALES/MARKETING COORDINATOR RACHEL MATHEIS SALES COORDINATOR JENNIFER ALEXANDER EXECUTIVE SECRETARY/SALES SUPPORT KRISTY DUNCAN OFFICE MANAGER SHELLY GRISSOM

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VISIT IMAGES SWEETWATER COUNTY ONLINE AT IMAGESSWEETWATERCOUNTY.COM ©Copyright 2008 Journal Communications Inc., 725 Cool Springs Blvd., Suite 400, Franklin, TN 37067, (615) 771-0080. All rights reserved.

No portion of this magazine may be reproduced in whole or in part without written consent.

Member

Magazine Publishers of America

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CU S TO M M AG A Z INE M ED I A

FOR MORE INFORMATION, CONTACT: Rock Springs Chamber of Commerce 1897 Dewar Drive â&#x20AC;¢ Rock Springs, WY, 82901 Phone: (307) 362-3771 â&#x20AC;¢ Fax: (307) 362-3838 E-mail: rschamber@sweetwaterhsa.com www.rockspringswyoming.net

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RECEPTIONIST LINDA BISHOP

Images Sweetwater County is published annually by Journal Communications Inc. and is distributed through the Rock Springs Chamber of Commerce and its member businesses.

For advertising information or to direct questions or comments about the magazine, contact Journal Communications Inc. at (615) 771-0080 or by e-mail at info@jnlcom.com.

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Custom Publishing Council

Member Rock Springs Chamber of Commerce

S W E E T WAT E R C O U N T Y

I M AG E S S W E E T WAT E R C O U N T Y. C O M

67

Ad Index 32 1ST BANK NORTHSIDE BRANCH

42 COLDWELL BANKER – CARRIER REALTY

50 A&E FLOW TESTING LLC 52 COYOTE CREEK 64 ABOUT TIME TRAVEL LLC 41 ALPINE PROPERTY MANAGEMENT LLC 53 ANYTIME FITNESS 58 BROKERAGE SOUTHWEST – BECKY COSTANTINO

33 DICK BOETTCHER INSURANCE AGENCY INC. 53 FAMILY DYNAMICS COUNSELING INC. 64 FLAMING GORGE DAYS 12 FMC

63 BROKERAGE SOUTHWEST – JIM ANSELMI 64 BROKERAGE SOUTHWEST – MAGGIE RILEY

53 HAGER CHIROPRACTIC 9 HUMANA 52 INTEGRATED POWER SERVICES

56 CITY OF GREEN RIVER – ART COUNCIL

51 MONEYHUN-MESSCO

Ad Index (cont.)

58 OAK TREE INN 44 PACIFIC STEEL & RECYCLING 4 QUESTAR 20 RE/MAX PROPERTY CENTER 62 RIVER FESTIVAL 68 ROCK SPRINGS CHAMBER OF COMMERCE 2 ROCK SPRINGS HISTORICAL MUSEUM 62 ROCK SPRINGS REALTY 1 ROCK SPRINGSSWEETWATER COUNTY AIRPORT 42 RODEO GRILL 6 SCHOOL DISTRICT #1 SWEETWATER 7 SHARON TURANO – STATE FARM INSURANCE 37 SOLVAY CHEMICALS 8 SWEETWATER COUNTY SCHOOL DISTRICT #2 C2 SWEETWATER EVENTS COMPLEX 64 SWEETWATER WELCOME 62 TABUCHI INSURANCE – STATE FARM C4 TACO TIME 60 TRONA VALLEY COMMUNITY FEDERAL CREDIT UNION 64 WADDELL & REED 58 WEST OF CENTER STUDIO & GIFTS

61 WILLOW RIDGE CRAFTS INC. 31 WYOMING COMMUNITY COLLEGES 52 WYOMING LAND TITLE COMPANY 20 YOUNG AT HEART SENIOR CENTER

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No matter where residents hail from, Rock Springs quickly becomes home; comfortable but challenging, quiet but stimulating. We love it here and think you would too. Come see us.

U A true historic city with 56 nationalities, offering cultural diversity U The most populated and fastest growing city in Southwest Wyoming U Located on a major transportation corridor including Interstate 80, major flyways and Union Pacific Railroad U Offers an incredible number of amenities and services all contributing to an exceptional quality of life U Access point to unique off-road and water recreation resources U Abundant natural resources are the backbone for a strong economy U A leader in the nation’s energy production U Two-wheel capital of Wyoming U Hub of motor sports recreation U The premium health care provider in Sweetwater County

Actively involved in:

Growing business and creating jobs in Sweetwater County, Wyoming

The Rock Springs Chamber of Commerce is dedicated to enhancing Sweetwater County’s quality of life and economic vitality through a cooperative Sweetwater County.

The mission of the City of Green River is to provide the highest quality municipal services and highest quality city infrastructure and facilities in a customer friendly and financially responsible manner.

U Workforce recruitment U Workforce development U Retention and expansion of existing Sweetwater U County businesses and industries U Free grant assistance U Helping communities create growth capacity U Housing for workforce U Cooperative community partnerships

U Voice of business to government U Creating a strong economy U Promoting the greater Sweetwater County Area U Providing network opportunities U Front door to our community

U Beautiful park, pathways and Greenbelt trails U Outstanding recreation center U Public art sculptures adorn the community U Established goals and vision to guide the city into the future U Origin of the Powell Expedition U West entrance of the Pilot Butte Wild Horse Loop Tour and gateway to the Flaming Gorge Recreation Area

Visitors can enjoy events, bike trails and walking paths along the scenic Green River. The Green River Chamber of Commerce is:

Green River ... oasis of the highest desert country offering a great quality of life blended with a friendly western attitude. Unique shopping, surrounded by history and stunning vistas with wild horses minutes away.

U Business and community advocate U Promoting the community U Providing networking opportunities U Tourism information center U Building a strong economy through partnerships

and Zfddle`k`\j kf^\k_\i The City of Rock Springs 212 D St. Rock Springs, WY 82901 (307) 352-1500 www.rswy.net

Sweetwater Economic Development Association 37%$!

1400 Dewar Dr. Rock Springs, WY 82901 (307) 352-6874 WWW SWEDA NET

Rock Springs Chamber of Commerce 1897 Dewar Dr. Rock Springs, WY 82901 s '/ $5.%3 www.rockspringswyoming.net

The City of Green River % ND .

'REEN 2IVER 79 (307) 872-6136 WWW CITYOFGREENRIVER ORG

Green River Chamber of Commerce 7 &LAMING 'ORGE 7AY 'REEN 2IVER 79 s &, '/2'% www.grchamber.com