Bigger not better for training tap · The Thermopolis Town Council took no action on a request from...
Transcript of Bigger not better for training tap · The Thermopolis Town Council took no action on a request from...
IR THERMOPOLIS INDEPENDENT RECORD VOLUME 115, No. 46, November 13, 2014 THERMOPOLIS, WY 82443 USPS 627-300 75¢
Therm
opoli
s
Mary Margaret Nutter, Bobbi Zupan and Mel Kress work to convince Terry Tonn that he needs one of the adorable puppies up for bid during the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation Hunter's Ball Saturday. Michael Byrd looks on in the background. The event raised $4,800 for RMEF. -Lara Love photo
byZacharyWhiteA lifelong entrepreneur, Linda
HughesmovedtoThermopoliswithenoughgoalstofillalifetime.Butherfirstgoalisclosetocomple-
tionwiththesneakpeakopeningofhernewbusiness,TheSupperClub.Startingat5p.m.Saturdaypar-
ticipants will be able to tour thenew business and socialize. Then,around6p.m.,HugheswillexplainhowmembershiptoTheSupperClubworksandherdreamofeventuallystarting a hospice house in Ther-mopolis.
Hughes said starting a hospicehouse is importantbecausepeopledeservepeacewhenthey’redying.“Dyingwithdignity,comfort,and
careisimportant,”shesaid.Followingher introduction, food
willbeserved.Hughes’ daughter-in-law Lyn-
daHughes, a former cook,will bepreparingaprixfixemenuthatin-cludesaYampaValleySoup,bistrosalad, barbecue tri-tip steak andcarrotcake.Andfollowingdinner,Hugheshas
aspecialguestperformanceforat-
tendees.TheYampaValley Boyswill be
performingat7p.m.andcoffeeanddessertswillbeservedduringabreakintheirperformance.LocatedatTheBarn,352BarNone
Drive,Saturday’seventwillgoun-til10p.m.andcosts$25,withhalfthemoneygoingtowardsthehospicehousefundHugheshassetup.
Hughes’ dreamHugheshadaplantostartabusi-
ness,andeventuallyahospice, foryears.Butwhen the propertyThe
Barnisonbecameavailable,shehadtohurryupherplans.“Therealtorhadthisoneinthere
(with the other properties) and Ithoughthewasnuts,”shesaid.However,shesaidwithbeautiful
scenicviewofrollinghillsandredrocks she and her husband, Mat-thew,fellinlovewiththelocation.Hughes plan for the barn is to
makeitarentablelocationforpeopletodoweddings,honeymoons,home-comingpicturesandanyothereventthatmayneedspacefor.Throughout the past twoweeks
HugheshastraveledbackandfourthfromCalifornia,whereshewasliv-ingbefore,tomoveallherstuffintothenewplace.Followinghermove,Hughesson
DiedrichandhiswifeLyndamovedintotownfromMontanawiththeirdaughterNovaJeane.With the help of her family,
Hughes hopes to expand the busi-nesstothepointwhereitcansus-tainahospicehouse.“But I’m gonna need help and
that’s gonna take a community,”shesaid.
byCindyGlassonThe Wyoming Department of Education
(WDE) released the results produced fromfederalandstateaccountabilitysystemslastFriday,Nov. 7, indicating howHot SpringsCountySchoolDistrictNo.1schoolsaredoing.There are four classifications for schools:
notmeeting expectations, partiallymeetingexpectations, meeting expectations and ex-ceedingexpectations.Ofthe353schoolsmeasuredbytheWyoming
AccountabilityinEducationAct(WAEA),over
17%areexceedingexpectationswith13%notmeetingexpectations,leavingtherestoftheWyomingschoolssomewhereinthemiddle.Smallerschoolsinthestatearenotrequired
toparticipate.InHotSpringsCounty,RalphWittersEl-
ementarywasratedasmeetingexpectations,ThermopolisMiddleSchoolisexceedingexpec-tationsandHotSpringsCountyHighSchoolisratedaspartiallymeetingexpectations.Thefederalaccountabilitysystem,referred
to asNoChildLeftBehind, and the state’s
system, known as the School PerformanceReports,areused intandemtodetermineaschool’sranking.The WDE is leading an effort to ensure
thatallWyomingstudentsreceivethequal-ity education they deserve, and identifyingweaknesseswithina school is just one stepinthatprocess.
Please see page A4 for an in-depth explana-tion of the rankings for Hot Springs County Schools by superintendent Dustin Hunt.
Sneak peek of The Supper Club Saturday
Everyone loves puppies
WDE releases HSCSD rankings
byCindyGlassonTheThermopolisTownCounciltooknoaction
onarequestfromtheFireDistrictregardingalargewatertapfortheproposednewtrainingcentersouthofThermopolis.
TheDistrictisrequestingasix-inchtapforthefacility,whichwoulddrawwaterfromthetanksonthehill.
ThetapwouldbepartoftheSouthThermop-olisWaterandSewerDistrict(STWSD)expan-sionproject.
NeilMillerindicatedthesizeofthetapbeingrequestedwouldbe“overkill”andconsideredhazardous,requiringextensivemonitoring.
Costsforthelargertapwouldbeintheneigh-borhoodof$70,000whileasmallertapwouldbemorelike$8,000-$10,000.
Council member and volunteer firefighterMarkNelsonagreedwithMiller,sayingthefa-cilitywouldonlybeusedonceamonthandaminimalamountofwaterwouldbeuseddur-ingtraining.
Nelsonsuggestedabettersolutionwouldbeasmallertapanddrawwaterfromapitastheydoatthefirehallon14thStreet.
Withtheabilitytodrawwaterat200psi,itwould literallydrainthetanks inamatterofminutes,whichcouldcauseallkindsofissuesforhomeownersandbusinessesalongtheline.
TownengineerHeathOverfieldsaidhedidnotbelieve thesix-inch tapwasnecessaryei-ther,sayingperhapsatwo-inchlinewouldbemoreappropriate.
Thecouncildecidedtotabletheissueuntilalaterdateandwouldliketohavearepresenta-tivefromtheDistrictattendthenextmeetinginordertodiscusstheissuefurther.
LandfillThecouncilalsodiscussedthefutureofthe
landfillwithOverfield,findingoutwenowsit23rd on the list for grantmonies to create atransferstation.
Overfield said a couple of other communi-tieshigheronthelistturnedthemoneydownastheyhadalreadymadeotherarrangements.Thismovedushigheruptheline.
The concern is the legislationmay changesoonregardinggrantfunding,puttingsomead-ditionalpressureonthetowntomakeadecisionaboutthelandfillsoon.
Thelegislaturewillbelookingforcommunitiesthatwanttogettheirtransferstationsstartedthesoonestforfundingdistribution.
Overfieldsaidhewouldputtogetheralettertosendtothestateoutliningourintenttomoveforwardwithatransferstationandbringittothecouncilforapprovalattheirnextmeeting.
Bigger not better for training tap
The sign "Welcome To Our Barn" hangs as a reminder to all visitors that The Barn is a place created for the com-munity to share.